tRAI 

EDUC. 

PSYCH. 

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METAPSYCHICAL    PHENOMENA 


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METAPSYCHICAL 
PHENOMENA 

METHODS  AND  OBSERVATIONS 
BY  J.   MAXWELL 

Doctor  of  Medicine 
Deputy-Attorney-General  at  the  Court  of  Appeal,  Bordeaux,  France 

WITH  A  PREFACE  BY  CHARLES  RICHET 

Member  of  the  Academy  of  Medicine 

Professor  of  Physiology  In  the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  Pans 

AND  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  SIR  OLIVER  LODGE 

Also  with  a  New  Chapter  containing 

'a    complex    case,'    by    professor    RICHET 

AND   AN    ACCOUNT    OF 

'some  recently  observed  phenomena* 

BY  THE  TRANSLATOR  L.  I.  FINCH 


LONDON 

DUCKWORTH    and    CO. 

3    HENRIETTA    STREET,    W.C. 
1905 


EDUC. 

PSYCH. 

LIBRARY 


NOTE  BY  THE  TRANSLATOR 

The  Translator  has  to  thank  sincerely  a  literary 
friend,  a  well-known  English  clergyman,  who  has 
been  kind  enough  to  revise  the  translation,  and 
suggest  many  improvements. 


INTRODUCTION 

Asked  by  my  friends  in  France  to  introduce  the  author, 
Dr.  Maxwell,  to  English  readers,  I  willingly  consented, 
for  I  have  reason  to  know  that  he  is  an  earnest  and 
indefatigable  student  of  the  phenomena  for  the  investiga- 
tion of  which  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  was 
constituted  ;  and  not  only  an  earnest  student,  but  a  sane 
and  competent  observer,  with  rather  special  qualifications 
for  the  task.  A  gentleman  of  independent  means, 
trained  and  practising  as  a  lawyer  at  Bordeaux,  Deputy 
Attorney-General,  in  fact,  at  the  Court  of  Appeal,  he 
supplemented  his  legal  training  by  going  through  a  full 
six  years'  medical  curriculum,  and  graduated  M.D.  in 
order  to  pursue  psycho-physiological  studies  with  more 
freedom,  and  to  be  able  to  form  a  sounder  and  more 
instructed  judgment  on  the  strange  phenomena  which 
came  under  his  notice.  Moreover,  he  was  fortunate  in 
enlisting  the  services  of  one  who  appears  to  be  singularly 
gifted  in  the  supernormal  direction,  an  educated  and 
interested  friend,  who  is  anxious  to  preserve  his  anony- 
mity, but  is  otherwise  willing  to  give  every  assistance 
in  his  power  towards  the  production  and  elucidation  of 
the  unusual  things  which  occur  in  his  presence  and 
apparently  through  his  agency. 


.>  *  o 


vi  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

In  all  this  they  have  been  powerfully  assisted  by 
Professor  Charles  Richet,  the  distinguished  physiologist 
of  Paris,  whose  name  and  fame  are  almost  as  well  known 
in  this  country  as  in  his  own,  and  who  gave  the  special 
evening  lecture  to  the  British  Association  on  the  occa- 
sion of  its  semi-international  meeting  at  Dover  in  1899. 

In  France  it  so  happens  that  these  problems  have  been 
attacked  chiefly  by  biologists  and  medical  men,  whereas 
in  this  country  they  have  attracted  the  attention  chiefly, 
though  not  exclusively,  of  physicists  and  chemists  among 
men  of  science.  This  gives  a  desirable  diversity  to  the 
point  of  view,  and  adds  to  the  value  of  the  work  of  the 
French  investigators.  Another  advantage  they  possess 
is  that  they  have  no  arriere-pensee  towards  religion  or 
the  spiritual  world.  Frankly,  I  expect, they  would  con- 
fess themselves  materialists,  and  would  disclaim  all  sym- 
pathy with  the  view  of  a  number  of  enthusiasts  in  this 
country,  who  have  sought  to  make  these  ill-understood 
facts  the  basis  for  a  kind  of  religious  cult  in  which  faith 
is  regarded  as  more  important  than  knowledge,  and  who 
contemn  the  attitude  of  scientific  men,  even  of  those 
few  who  really  seek  to  observe  and  understand  the 
phenomena. 

From  Dr.  Maxwell's  observations,  so  far,  there  arises 
no  theory  which  he  feels  to  be  in  the  least  satisfactory  : 
the  facts  are  recorded  as  observed,  and  though  theoretical 
comments  are  sometimes  attempted  in  the  text,  they  are 
admittedly  tentative  and  inadequate  :  we  know  nothing 
at  present  which  will  suffice  to  weld  the  whole  together 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

into  a  comprehensive  and  comprehensible  scheme.  But 
for  the  theoretical  discussion  of  such  phenomena  the 
work  of  Mr.  Myers  on  Human  Personality  is  of  course 
far  more  thorough  and  ambitious  than  the  semi-popular 
treatment  in  the  present  book.  And  in  the  matter  of 
history  also,  the  English  reader,  familiar  with  the  writ- 
ings of  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  and  Mr.  Podmore,  will  not 
attribute  much  importance  to  the  few  historical  remarks 
of  the  present  writer.  He  claims  consideration  as  an 
observer  of  exceptional  ability  and  scrupulous  fairness, 
and  his  work  is  regarded  with  the  greatest  interest  by 
workers  in  this  field  throughout  the  world. 

There  is  one  thing  which  Dr.  Maxwell  does  not  do. 
He  does  not  record  his  facts  according  to  the  standard 
set  up  by  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  in  this 
country  :  that  is  to  say,  he  does  not  give  a  minute 
account  of  all  the  details,  nor  does  he  relate  the  precau- 
tions taken,  nor  seek  to  convince  hostile  critics  that  he 
has  overlooked  no  possibility,  and  made  no  mistakes. 
Discouraged  by  previous  attempts  and  failures  in  this 
direction,  he  has  regarded  the  task  as  impossible,  and 
has  not  attempted  it.  He  has  satisfied  himself  with 
three  things  : — 

1st.  To  train  himself  long  and  carefully  as  an 
observer  ; 

2nd.  To  learn  from,  and  be  guided  by,  the  pheno- 
mena as  they  occur,  without  seeking  unduly 
to  coerce  them ; 


viii         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

3rd.  To  give  a  general  account  of  the "  impression 
made  upon  him  by  the  facts  as  they  ap- 
peared. 

For  the  rest,  he  professes  himself  indifferent  whether 
his  assertions  meet  with  credence  or  not.  He  has  done 
his  best  to  test  the  phenomena  for  himself,  regarding 
them  critically,  and  not  at  all  in  a  spirit  of  credulity ; 
and  he  has  endangered  his  reputation  by  undertaking 
what  he  regards  as  a  plain  duty,  that  of  setting  down 
under  his  own  name,  for  the  world  to  accept  or  reject  as 
it  pleases,  a  statement  of  the  experiences  to  which  he  has 
devoted  so  much  time  and  attention,  and  of  the  actuality 
of  which,  though  he  in  no  way  professes  to  understand 
them,  he  is  profoundly  convinced. 

Equally  convinced  of  their  occurrence  is  Professor 
Richet,  who  has  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  many 
of  them,  and  he  too  regards  them  from  the  same  untheo- 
retical  and  empirical  point  of  view  ;  but  he  has  explained 
his  own  attitude  in  a  Preface  to  the  French  edition,  as 
Dr.  Maxwell  has  explained  his  in  '  Preliminary  Remarks,* 
— both  of  which  are  here  translated — so  there  is  no  need 
to  say  more  ;  beyond  this  : — 

The  particular  series  of  occurrences  detailed  in  these 
pages  I  myself  have  not  witnessed.  I  may  take  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  them  before  long  ;  but  though 
that  will  increase  my  experience,  it  will  not  increase  my 
conviction  that  things  like  some  of  these  can  and  do 
occur,  and  that  any  other  patient  explorer  who  had  the 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

same  advantages  and  similar  opportunity  for  observation, 
would  undergo  the  same  sort  of  experience,  that  is  to 
say,  would  receive  the  same  sensory  impressions,  however 
he  might  choose  to  interpret  them. 

That  is  what  the  scientific  world  has  gradually  to 
grow  accustomed  to.  These  things  happen  under 
certain  conditions,  in  the  same  sense  that  more  familiar 
things  happen  under  ordinary  conditions.  What  the 
conditions  are  that  determine  the  happening  is  for  future 
theory  to  say. 

Dr.  Maxwell  is  convinced  that  such  things  can  happen 
without  anything  that  can  with  any  propriety  whatever 
be  called  fraud ;  sometimes  under  conditions  so  favour- 
able for  observation  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
deception  of  any  kind.  Some  of  them,  as  we  know 
well,  do  also  frequently  happen  under  fraudulent  and 
semi-fraudulent  conditions ;  L  but  those  who  take  the 
easy  line  of  assuming  that  hyper-ingenious  fraud  and 
extravagant  self-deception  are  sufficient  to  account  for 
the  whole  of  the  facts,  will  ultimately,  I  think,  find 
themselves  to  have  been  deceived  by  their  own  a  priori 
convictions.  \  Nevertheless  we  may  agree  that  at  present 
the  Territory  under  exploration  is  not  yet  a  scientific 
State.  We  are  in  the  pre- Newtonian,  possibly  the 
pre-Copernican,  age  of  this  nascent  science  ;  and  it  is 
our  duty  to  accumulate  facts  and  carefully  record  them, 
for  a  future  Kepler  to  brood  over. 

What  may  be  likened  to  the  '  Ptolemaic '  view  of  the 
phenomena  seems  on  the  whole  to  be  favoured  by  the 


X  METAPSYCHICAL   PHENOMENA 

French  observers,  viz.  that  they  all  centre  round  living 
man,  and  represent  an  unexpected  extension  of  human 
faculty,  an  extension,  as  it  were,  of  the  motor  and 
sensory  power  of  the  body  beyond  its  apparent  boundary. 
That  is  undoubtedly  the  first  adit  to  be  explored,  and  it 
may  turn  out  to  lead  us  in  the  right  direction  ;  but  it 
is  premature  even  to  guess  what  will  be  the  ultimate 
outcome  of  this  extra  branch  of  psychological  and 
physiological  study.  That  sensory  perception  can  extend 
to  things  out  of  contact  with  the  body  is  familiar  enough, 
though  it  has  not  been  recognised  for  the  senses  of  touch 
or  taste.  That  motor  activity  should  also  extend  into 
a  region  beyond  the  customary  range  of  muscular  action 
is,  as  yet,  unrecognised  by  science.  Nevertheless  that  is 
the  appearance. 

The  phenomena  which  have  most  attracted  the 
attention  and  maintained  the  interest  of  the  French 
observers,  have  been  just  those  which  convey  the  above 
impression :  that  is  to  say,  mechanical  movements  with- 
out contact,  production  of  intelligent  noises,  and  either 
visible,  tangible,  or  luminous  appearances  which  do  not 
seem  to  be  hallucinatory.  These  constantly-asserted, 
and  in  a  sense  well-known,  and  to  some  few  people 
almost  familiar,  experiences,  have  with  us  been  usually 
spoken  of  as  *  physical  or  psycho-physical  phenomena.' 
In  France  they  have  been  called  *  psychical  phenomena,* 
but  that  name  is  evidently  not  satisfactory,  since  that 
should  apply  to  purely  mental  experiences.  To  call 
them  '  occult  phenomena '  is  not  distinctive,  for  every- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

thing  is  occult  until  it  is  explained  ;  and  the  business  of 
■science  is  to  contemplate  the  mixed  mass  of  hetero- 
geneous appearances,  such  as  at  one  time  formed  all 
that  was  known  of  Chemistry,  for  instance,  or  Electricity, 
and  evolve  from  them  an  ordered  scheme  of  science. 

To  emphasise  the  fact  that  these  occurrences  are  at 
present  beyond  the  scheme  of  orthodox  psychology  or 
psycho-physiology,  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  the 
germ  of  what  we  now  call  Metaphysics  was  once  placed 
after,  or  considered  as  extra  to,  the  course  of  orthodox 
Natural  Philosophy  or  Physics,  Professor  Richet  has 
suggested  that  they  be  styled  *meta-psychical  phenomena,' 
and  that  the  nascent  branch  of  science,  which  he  and 
other  pioneers  are  endeavouring  to  found,  be  called  for 
the  present '  Metapsychics/  Dr.  Maxwell  concurs  in  this 
-comparatively  novel  term,  and  as  there  seems  no  serious 
objection  to  it,  the  English  version  of  Dr.  MaxwelFs 
record  will  appear  under  this  title. 

The  book  will  be  found  for  the  most  part  eminently 
readable — rather  an  unusual  circumstance  for  a  record  of 
this  kind — and  the  scrupulous  fairness  with  which  the 
author  has  related  everything  he  can  think  of  which  tells 
against  the  genuineness  of  the  phenomena,  is  highly  to  be 
commended.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  evidence 
it  is  manifestly  his  earnest  wish  never  to  make  it  appear 
to  others  better  than  it  appears  to  himself. 

If  critics  attack  the  book,  as  they  undoubtedly  will, 
Avith  the  objection  that  though  it  may  contain  a  mass 
of  well-attested   assertions  by  a  competent  and  careful 


xii         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

observer,  yet  his  observations  are  set  down  without  the 
necessary  details  on  which  an  outside  critic  can  judge 
how  far  the  things  really  happened,  and  how  far  the 
observer  was  deceived — let  it  be  remembered  that  this  is 
admitted.  Dr.  Maxwell's  defence  is,  that  to  give  such 
details  as  will  satisfy  a  hostile  critic  who  was  not  actually 
present  is  impossible — in  that  I  am  disposed  to  agree 
with  him — he  has  therefore  not  attempted  the  task  ; 
and  I  admit,  though  I  cannot  commend,  his  discretion. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  attempt  to  give  every  detail 
necessarily  produces  a  dreary  and  overburdened  narrative. 
So  it  does.  Nevertheless  I  must  urge — as  both  in  accord^ 
ance  with  my  own  judgment  of  what  is  fitting,  and  in 
loyalty  to  the  high  standard  of  evidence,  and  the  more 
stringent  rules  of  testimony,  inaugurated  by  the  wise 
founders  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research — that 
observers  should  always  make  an  effort  to  record  pre- 
cisely every  detail  of  the  circumstances  of  some  at  least 
of  these  elusive  and  rare  phenomena ;  so  as  to  assist  in 
enabling  a  fair  judgment  to  be  formed  by  people  whcv 
are  not  too  inexperienced  in  the  conditions  attending  this 
class  of  observation,  and  at  any  rate  to  add  to  the  clear- 
ness of  their  apprehension  of  the  events  recorded.  The 
opportunities  for  research  are  not  yet  ended,  however,, 
and  I  may  be  allowed  to  express  a  hope  that  in  the 
future  something  of  this  kind  will  yet  be  done,  when 
the  occasion  is  favourable,  after  a  study  of  such  a  record 
as  that  of  the  Sidgwick-Hodgson-Davy  experiments  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research^  vol.  iv^ 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

Our  gratitude  to  Dr.  Maxwell  would  thus  be  still  further 
increased. 

And  now,  finally,  I  must  not  be  understood  as  making 
myself  responsible  for  the  contents  of  the  book,  nor  for 
the  interjected  remarks,  nor  for  the  translation.  The 
author  and  translator  must  bear  their  own  responsibility. 
My  share  in  the  work  is  limited  to  expressing  my  con- 
fidence in  the  good  faith  of  Dr.  Maxwell  —  in  his 
impartiality  and  competence, — and  while  congratulating 
him  on  the  favourable  opportunities  for  investigation 
which  have  fallen  to  his  lot,  to  thank  him,  on  behalf 
of  English  investigators,  for  the  single-minded  perti- 
nacity and  strenuous  devotion  with  which  he  has  pursued 
this  difficult  and  still  nebulous  quest. 

Oliver  Lodge. 


PREFACE 

There  are  books  in  which  the  author  says  so  clearly 
and  in  such  precise  terms  what  he  has  to  say  that 
any  commentary  weakens  their  import ;  and  a  preface 
becomes  superfluous,  sometimes  even  prejudicial. 

Dr.  Maxwell's  work  belongs  to  this  category.  The 
author,  who  has  long  given  himself  up  to  psychology, 
has  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  many  interesting 
things.  He  has  observed  everything  with  minute  care  ; 
and  having  well  thought  out  the  method  of  observation, 
the  consequences,  and  the  nature  itself  of  the  phenomena, 
he  lays  bare  his  facts  and  deducts  therefrom  a  few  simple 
ideas,  fearlessly,  honestly,  sine  ira  nee  studio^  before  a 
public  which  he  hopes  to  find  impartial. 

To  this  same  public  I  address  the  short  introduction, 
with  which  my  friend  Dr.  Maxwell  kindly  asked  me 
to  head  this  excellent  work. 

My  advice  to  the  reader  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few 
words.  He  must  take  up  this  book  without  prejudice. 
He  must  fear  neither  that  which  is  new,  nor  that  which 
is  unexpected.  In  other  words,  while  preserving  the 
most  scrupulous  respect  for  the  science  of  to-day,  he 
must  be  thoroughly  convinced  that  this  science,  whatever 


xvi        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

measure  of  truth  it  may  contain,  is  nevertheless  terribly 
incomplete. 

Those  imprudent  people  who  busy  themselves  with 
'  occult '  sciences  are  accused  of  overthrowing  Science, 
of  destroying  that  bulwark  which  thousands  of  toilers, 
at  the  cost  of  an  immense  universal  effort,  have  been 
occupied  in  constructing  during  the  last  three  or  four 
centuries. 

This  reproach  seems  to  me  rather  unjust.  No  one 
is  able  to  destroy  a  scientific  y^?r/. 

An  electric  current  decomposes  water  into  one 
volume  of  oxygen  and  two  of  hydrogen.  This  is  a 
fact  which  will  be  true  in  the  eternal  future,  just  as  it 
has  been  true  in  the  eternal  past.  Ideas  may  perhaps 
change  on  what  it  is  expedient  to  call  electric  current, 
oxygen,  hydrogen,  etc.  It  may  be  discovered  that 
hydrogen  is  composed  of  fifty  different  bodies,  that 
oxygen  is  transformed  into  hydrogen,  that  the  electric 
current  is  a  ponderable  force  or  a  luminous  emission. 
No  matter  what  is  going  to  be  discovered,  we  shall 
never,  in  any  case,  prevent  what  we  call  to-day  an 
electric  current  from  transforming,  under  certain  con- 
ditions of  combined  pressure  and  temperature,  what 
we  call  water  into  two  gases,  each  having  different 
properties,  gases  which  are  emitted  in  volumetrical 
proportions  of  2  to  i . 

Therefore,  there  need  be  no  fear,  that  the  invasion 
of  a  new  science  into  the  old  will  upset  acquired  data, 
and  contradict  what  has  been  established  by  savants. 


PREFACE  xvii 

Consequently  psychical  phenomena,  however  compli- 
cated, unforeseen,  or  appalling  we  may  now  and  then 
imagine  them  to  be,  will  not  subvert  any  of  those  facts 
which  form  part  of  to-day's  classical  sciences. 

Astronomy  and  physiology,  physics  and  mathematics, 
chemistry  and  zoology,  need  not  be  afraid.  They 
are  intangible,  and  nothing  will  injure  the  imposing 
assemblage  of  incontestable  facts  which  constitute  them. 

But  notions,  hitherto  unknown,  may  be  introduced, 
which,  without  casting  doubts  upon  pristine  truths, 
may  cause  new  ones  to  enter  their  domain,  and  change, 
or  even  upset,  our  established  notions  of  things. 

The  facts  may  be  unforeseen,  but  they  will  never 
be  contradictory. 

The  history  of  sciences  teaches  us,  that  their  bulwarks 
have  never  been  overthrown  by  the  inroad  of  a  new 
science. 

At  one  time  no  notion  of  tubercular  infection  existed. 
We  now  know  that  it  is  transmitted  by  microbes. 
This  is  a  new  notion,  teeming  with  important  con- 
clusions, but  it  does  not  invalidate  the  clinical  table 
of  pulmonary  phthisis  drawn  up  by  physicians  of 
other  days.  The  discovery  of  Hertzian  waves  has  in 
nowise  shaken  Ampere's  laws.  Newton's  and  FresneFs 
optics  have  not  been  changed  into  a  tissue  of  errors 
because  Roentgen  rays  and  luminous  vibrations  are  able 
to  penetrate  opaque  bodies.  It  appears  that  radium 
can  throw  out  unremittingly,  without  any  appreciable 
chemical    molecular     phenomena,    great    quantities    of 


xviii      METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

calorific  energy  ;  nevertheless,  we  may  be  quite  sure, 
that  the  law  of  conservation  of  energy  and  thermo- 
dynamic principles  will  remain  as  true  now  as  ever. 

Likewise,  if  the  facts  called  *  occult '  become  estab- 
lished, as  seems  more  and  more  probable,  we  need  not 
feel  anxious  as  to  the  fate  of  classical  science.  New 
and  unknown  facts,  however  strange  they  may  be,  will 
not  do  away  with  old  established  facts. 

To  take  an  example  from  Dr.  MaxwelFs  work,  let  us 
admit  that  the  phenomenon  of  raps — that  is  to  say, 
sonorous  vibrations  in  wood  or  other  substances — is 
a  real  phenomenon,  and  that,  in  certain  cases,  there 
are  sounds  which  no  mechanical  force  known  to  us 
can  explain,  would  the  science  of  physics  be  over- 
thrown ?  It  would  be  a  new  force  thrown  out  on  to 
wood,  etc.,  exercising  its  power  on  matter,  but  the 
old  forces  would  none  the  less  preserve  their  activity, 
and  it  is  even  likely  that  the  transmission  of  vibrations 
by  means  of  this  new  force  would  be  found  to  be  in 
obedience  to  the  same  laws  as  those  governing  the 
transmission  of  other  vibrations  ; — the  temperature,  the 
pressure,  the  density  of  air  or  wood  would  continue 
to  exercise  their  usual  influence.  There  would  be 
nothing  new,  save  the  existence  of  a  force  until  then 
unknown. 

Now,  is  there  any  savant  worthy  of  the  name  who 
can  affirm,  that  there  are  no  forces,  hitherto  unknown, 
at  work  in  the  world  ? 

However  impregnable  Science  may  be  when  establish- 


PREFACE 


XIX 


ing  facts,  it  is  miserably  subject  to  error  when  claiming 
to  establish  negations. 

Here  is  a  dilemma,  which  appears  to  me  to  be  very 
conclusive  in  that  respect : — Either  we  know  all  Nature's 
forces,  or  we  do  not.  Now  the  first  alternative  is  so 
ridiculous,  that  it  is  really  not  worth  while  refuting 
it.  Our_senses  are  so  limited,  so  imperfect,  that  the 
world  slips  away  from  them  almost  entirely.  We  may 
say  it  is  owing  to  an  accident,  that  the  magnet's  colossal 
force  was  discovered,  and  if  hazard  had  not  placed  iron 
beside  the  loadstone,  we  might  have  always  remained 
ignorant  of  the  attraction  which  loadstone  exercises 
upon  iron.  Ten  years  ago  no  one  suspected  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Roentgen  rays.  Before  photography,  no 
one  knew  that  light  reduces  salts  of  silver.  It  is 
not  twenty  years  since  the  Hertzian  waves  were  dis- 
covered. The  property  displayed  by  amber  when 
rubbed  was,  until  two  hundred  years  ago,  all  that  was 
known  of  that  immense  force  called  electricity. 

Question  a  savage — nay  a  fellah  or  a  moujik — upon 
the  forces  of  Nature  !  He  will  not  know  even  the  tenth 
part  of  such  forces  as  elementary  treatises  on  physics  in 
1905  will  enumerate.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  savants 
of  to-day,  in  respect  to  the  savants  of  the  future,  stand  in 
the  same  inferiority  as  the  moujiks  to  the  professors  of 
the  college  of  France. 

Who  then  dare  be  so  rash  as  to  say  that  the  treatises 
on  physics  in  2005  will  but  repeat  what  is  to  be  found 
in  the  treatises  of  1 905  ?    The  probability — the  certainty. 


XX  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

one  might  say — is  that  new  scientific  data  will  shortly 
spring  up  out  of  the  darkness,  and  that  most  powerful 
and  altogether  unknown  forces  will  be  revealed.  Our 
great-grandchildren  will  be  amazed  at  the  blindness 
of  our  savants,  who  tacitly  profess  the  immobility  of 
science. 

If  science  has  made  such  progress  of  late,  it  is  pre- 
cisely because  our  predecessors  were  not  afraid  to  make 
bold  hypotheses,  to  suppose  new  forces,  demonstrating 
their  reality  by  dint  of  patience  and  perseverance.     Our 
strict  duty  is  to  do  likewise.    The  savant  should  be  a 
revolutionist,  and   fortunately   the   time   is    over  when 
truth  had  to  be  sought  in  a  master's  book — magister  dixit 
— be   he    Aristotle    or  Plato.     In    politics  we  may  be 
conservative  or  progressive ;   it  is  a  question  of  tem- 
perament.    But  when  the  research  of  truth  is  concerned 
we  must  be  resolutely  and  unreservedly  revolutionary, 
and  must  consider  classical  theories — even  those  which 
appear  to  be  the  most  solid — as  temporary  hypotheses, 
which  we  must  incessantly  check  and  incessantly  strive  to 
overthrow.     The  Chinese  believed  that  science  had  been 
fixed  by  their  ancestors'  sapience  ;  this  example  contains 
food  for  meditation. 

Moreover — and  why  not  proclaim  it  loudly — all  that 
science  of  which  we  are  so  proud,  is  only  knowledge  of 
appearances.  The  real  nature  of  things  baffles  us.  The 
innermost  nature  of  laws  governing  matter,  whether 
living  or  inert,  is  inaccessible  to  our  intelligence.  A 
stone  tossed  up  into  the  air  falls  back  again  to  the  earth. 


PREFACE  xxi 

Why  ?  Newton  says  through  attraction  proportional  to 
bulk  and  distance.  But  this  law  is  only  the  statement  of 
a  fact ;  who  understands  that  attractive  vibration,  which 
makes  the  stone  fall  ?  The  fall  of  a  stone  is  such  a 
commonplace  phenomenon,  that  it  does  not  astonish  us  : 
but  in  reality  no  human  intelligence  has  ever  understood 
it.  It  is  usual,  common,  accepted  ;  but  like  all  Nature's 
phenomena  without  exception  it  is  not  understood.  After 
fecundation  an  egg  becomes  an  embryon  ;  we  describe 
as  well  as  we  can  the  phases  of  this  phenomenon  ;  but, 
in  spite  of  the  most  minute  descriptions,  have  we  under- 
stood the  evolution  of  that  cellular  protoplasm,  which  is 
transformed  into  a  huge,  living  being  ?  What  prodigy 
is  at  work  in  these  segmentations?  Why  do  these 
granulations  crowd  together  there?  Why  do  they 
decay  here  to  form  again  elsewhere  ? 

We  live  in  the  midst  of  phenomena  and  have  no 
adequate  knowledge  of  any  one  of  them.  Even  the 
simplest  phenomenon  is  most  mysterious.  What  does 
the  combination  of  hydrogen  with  oxygen  mean  ?  Who 
has  even  once  been  thoroughly  able  to  understand  that 
word  combination^  annihilation  of  the  properties  of  two 
bodies  by  the  creation  of  a  third  body  differing  from 
the  two  first.  How  are  we  to  understand  that  an  atom 
is  indivisible  ;  it  is  constituted  of  a  particle  of  matter, 
yet — even  in  thought — it  cannot  be  divided  ! 

Therefore  it  behoves  the  true  savant  to  be  very 
modest,  yet  very  bold  at  the  same  time  :  very  modest, 
for  our  science  is  a   mere    trifle — 'H  dvOpcoTrivr)  croc^ta 


xxii        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

okiyov  Tivos  d^id  icrri,  koX  ovZevo^ — very  bold,  for  the 
vast  regions  of  worlds  unknown  lie  open  before  him. 

Audacity  and  prudence  :  such  are  the  two  qualities,  in 
no  wise  contradictory,  of  Dr.  Maxwell's  book. 

Whatever  be  the  fate  in  store  for  his  ideas — Ideas 
based  upon  facts — we  may  rest  assured  that  the  facts, 
which  he  has  well  observed,  will  remain.  I  think  I  see 
here  the  lineaments  of  a  new  science — though  only  a 
crude  sketch  so  far. 

Who  knows  but  that  physiology  and  physics  may  find 
herein  some  precious  elements  of  knowledge.^  Woe  to 
the  savants  who  think  that  the  book  of  Nature  is  closed, 
and  that  we  puny  men  have  nothing  more  to  learn. 

Charles  Richet. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  BY  SIR  OLIVER  LODGE,      ...  v 

PREFACE  BY  PROFESSOR  CHARLES  RICHET,       .          .  xv 

PRELIMINARY  REMARKS, I 


CHAP. 

L  METHOD: 

I.  Material  Conditions,    .         .         .         .         .         .  33 

II.  Composition  of  the  Circle,  .          .          .         .         .  42 

III.  Methods  of  Operation, 48 

IV.  The  Personification, 64 

11.  RAPS, 72 

III.  PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS: 

I.  Parakinesis, 93 

II.  Telekinesis, 98 

IV.  LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA, 129 

V.  PSYCHO-SENSORY  AND   INTELLECTUAL   PHENO- 
MENA : 

I.  Sensory  Automatism,           .         .          .          .          .  181 

II.  Crystal  Gazing,          .         .          .         .         .          .  184 

III.  Dreams,  Telepathy,    ......  205 


xxiv       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

CHAP.  PAGE 

IV.  Telaesthesia,       .         .  .         .         .         .  .211 

V.  A  Complex  Case  by  Professor  Richet,           .          .  215 

VI.  Motor  Automatism,   .         .          .          .         .          .  235 

VII.   Automatic  Writing,    ......  238 

VIII.  Phonetic  and  Mixed  Automatisms,        .         .          .  251 

IX.  The  Psychology  of  Automatism,           .         .         .  255 


VI.  SOME  RECENTLY  OBSERVED  PSYCHICAL  PHENO- 

MENA.   By  L.  I.  Finch, 268 

VII.  FRAUD  AND  ERROR : 

I.  Fraud,      ........  364 

II.  Error,      ........  386 

CONCLUSION, 392 

APPENDICES, 398 


PRELIMINARY    REMARKS 

I  HESITATED  for  a  long  time  before  deciding  to  publish 
the  impressions  which  ten  years  of  psychical  research 
have  left  me.  These  impressions  are  so  uncertain  upon 
several  points,  that  I  wondered  if  it  were  worth  while 
expressing  in  book  form  the  few  and  sparse  conclusions 
I  am  able  to  formulate.  If,  finally,  I  decide  to  publish 
my  opinions,  it  is  because  it  seems  incumbent  upon  me 
to  do  so.  I  am  not  Wind  to  the  fact  that  my  testimony 
is  of  very  little  importance  ;  but  however  modest  it  may 
be,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  this  testi- 
mony, such  as  it  is,  to  those  who  have  undertaken  to 
submit  to  scientific  discipline  the  study  of  those  pheno- 
mena which  are,  in  appearance  at  least,  so  rebellious  to 
such  discipline.  It  might  have  been  more  convenient 
and  advantageous  for  myself  had  I  continued  my  re- 
searches in  peace  and  quiet.  I  do  not  try  to  prosely- 
tise, and  it  is  really  a  matter  of  indifference  to  me, 
whether  my  contemporaries  share  or  do  not  share  my 
views.  But  the  sight  of  a  few  brave  men  fighting  the 
battle  alone  is  by  no  means  a  matter  of  indifference  to 
me.  There  is  a  certain  cowardliness  in  believing  their 
teachings,  whilst  allowing  them  to  bear  all  the  brunt  of 
the  fray  for  upholding  opinions,  which  require  so  much 
courage  to  champion.  To  these  brave  spirits  I  dedicate 
my  book. 

I  care  naught  for  public  opinion  :  not  that  I  disdain 


2  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

it — on  the  contrary,  I  have  the  greatest  respect  for  its 
judgment — but  I  am  not  addressing  the  public.  The 
question  I  am  studying  is  not  ripe  for  the  public  ;  or  the 
case  may  be  the  other  way  about. 

I  address  those  brave  men  of  whom  I  have  just 
spoken,  to  let  them  know  I  am  of  their  mind,  and  that 
my  observations  confirm  theirs  on  many  points.  I  also 
address  those  who  are  seeking  to  establish  the  reality  of 
the  curious  phenomena,  treated  of  in  this  book.  I  have 
tried  to  fill  a  gap  by  showing  them  the  best  methods 
to  adopt,  in  order  to  arrive  at  appreciable  results, — such 
results  being  far  less  difficult  to  obtain  than  is  commonly 
supposed. 

A  word  about  the  method  I  have  followed.  I  have 
purposely  refrained  from  giving  a  purely  scientific  aspect 
to  my  book,  though  I  might  have  done  so  had  I  chosen, 
for  the  usual  scientific  dressing  is  unsuitable  to  the 
subject  in  hand.  It  seemed  preferable  to  relate  what  I 
have  seen,  leaving  it  to  those  for  whom  I  write  to  be- 
lieve me  or  not,  as  they  think  fit. 

I  might  have  accumulated  not  a  little  testimony  and 
considerable  external  evidence,  but  to  have  done  so 
would  not  have  been  the  means  of  convincing  a 
single  extra  reader.  Those,  whom  my  simple  affirma- 
tion leaves  sceptical,  would  not  be  convinced  by 
reports  signed  by  witnesses,  whose  sincerity  and  com- 
petence are  frequently  called  into  question.  Neither 
did  I  wish  to  adopt  the  method  followed  by  the  Agnelas, 
Milan,  and  Carqueiranne  experimenters,  in  giving  a 
detailed  report  of  all  my  sittings  ;  this  method  too  has  its 
advantages  and  disadvantages.  However  exhaustive  a 
report  may  be,  it  is  difficult  to  indicate  therein  all  the 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  3 

conditions  of  the  experiment  ;  oversights  are  inevitable. 
Moreover,  it  would  be  useless  to  say  that  every  precau- 
tion had  been  taken  against  fraud,  for  in  enumerating 
such  precautions,  the  omission  of  a  single  one  would 
suffice  to  expose  oneself  to  most  justifiable  criticism. 
Probably  that  very  precaution  was  elementary  and  had 
been  taken,  or  was  considered  useless  and  put  aside 
deliberately  ;  nevertheless  such  circumstances  would  not 
escape  criticism.  We  wish  to  convince  by  pointing  out 
the  exact  conditions  of  the  experiment  ;  but  those,  whom 
we  would  most  wish  to  convince,  are  the  very  persons  least 
prepared  to  judge  of  the  conditions  in  which  psychical 
experiences  are  obtained.  These  are  physicists  and 
chemists  ;  but  living  matter  does  not  react  like  inorganic 
matter  or  chemical  substances. 

I  do  not  seek  to  convince  these  savants  ;  my  book  is 
unassuming  and  makes  no  pretence  of  having  been 
written  for  them.  If  they  in  their  turn  should  be 
tempted  to  try  for  those  effects  which  I  have  obtained, 
the  methods  indicated  will  be  easily  accessible  to  them. 
It  is  in  this  way  they  can  be  indirectly  convinced,  though 
to  convince  them  is  not  my  present  aim.  Others  are 
better  qualified  than  I  am  to  try  their  hand  at  this 
most  desirable  but,  for  the  moment,  most  difficult  task. 

Difficult  !  Ay,  and  for  a  thousand  reasons.  First 
of  all  because  it  is  the  fashion  of  to-day  to  look  upon 
these  facts  as  unworthy  of  science.  I  acknowledge 
taking  a  delicate  pleasure  in  comparing  the  different 
opinions  which  many  young  Savants  (I  beg  the  printer 
not  to  forget  a  very  big  capital  S)  bring  to  bear 
upon  their  contemporaries.  Here  is  a  man  surrounded 
by  deferential  spectators:   solemnly  he  hands  a  paper- 


4  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

knife  to  a  sleeping  hysterical  subject,  and  gravely  invites 
him  to  murder  such  or  such  an  individual  who  is  sup- 
posed to  be  where  there  is  really  only  an  empty  chair. 
When  the  patient  springs  forward  to  carry  out  the  sug- 
gestion, and  strikes  the  chair  with  the  paper-knife,  the 
lookers-on  behold  a  scientific  fact,  according  to  classical 
science.  On  the  other  hand,  here  is  another  man  who, 
not  a  whit  less  solemnly,  makes  longitudinal  passes  upon 
his  subject,  puts  him  to  sleep,  and  then  tries  to  ex- 
teriorise the  said  subject's  sensibility  ;  but  the  onlookers 
in  this  case  are  not  recognised  as  witnessing  a  scientific 
fact !  I  have  never  been  able  to  see  wherein  lies  the 
difference  between  these  two  experimenters,  the  one 
experimenting  with  an  hysterical  subject  more  or  less 
untrustworthy,  the  other  examining  a  phenomenon 
which,  if  it  be  true,  may  be  observed  without  the 
necessity  of  trusting  oneself  solely  to  the  honesty  of  the 
individual  asleep. 

In  fact  there  is  a  most  intolerant  clique  among  savants. 
Facts  it  seems  are  of  no  importance  when  pointed 
out  by  those  who  stand  beyond  the  pale  of  official 
science.  Unfortunately,  psychical  phenomena  cannot  be 
as  easily  and  readily  demonstrated  as  the  X-rays  or 
wireless  telegraphy,  incontestable  facts  which  any  one  can 
prove  to  his  entire  satisfaction.  Therefore  young  savants 
rejoice  in  making  an  onslaught  on  those  who  apply 
themselves  to  the  study  of  these  phenomena.  It  was  the 
same  thing  in  olden  times  when  budding  theologians 
made  their  debuts  in  the  arena  of  theology  against 
notorious  arch-heretics,  Arians,  Manicheans,  or  gnostics. 
Nil  novi  sub  sole. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  5 

I  readily  admit  that  many,  who  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  the  curious  phenomena  of  which  I  am  going 
to  speak,  frequently  lay  themselves  open  to  criticism. 
Sometimes  they  are  not  very  strict  concerning  the  con- 
ditions under  which  their  experiments  are  conducted  : 
they  trust  naively,  and  their  conviction  is  quickly  formed. 
I  cannot  too  forcibly  beg  them  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  premature  assertions :  may  they  avoid  justifying 
Montaigne's  saying,  '  L' imagination  cree  le  cas.'  My 
remark  is  more  particularly  addressed  to  occult,  theoso- 
phical,  and  spiritistic  groups.  The  first-named  follow  an 
undesirable  method.  Their  manner  of  reasoning  is 
not  likely  to  bring  them  many  adepts,  from  among 
those  who  are  given  to  thinking  deeply.  In  ordinary 
logic,  analogy  and  correspondence  have  not  the  same 
importance  as  deduction  and  induction.  On  the  other 
hand  it  does  not  seem  to  me  prudent  to  consider  the 
esoteric  interpretation  of  the  Hebrew  writings  as  being 
necessarily  truth's  last  word.  I  do  not  see  why  I  should 
transfer  a  belief  in  their  exoteric  assertions  to  a  belief  in 
their  talmudistic  or  kabbalistic  commentaries.  I  can 
hardly  believe  that  the  Rabbis  of  the  middle  ages,  or 
their  predecessors,  Esdras'  contemporaries,  had  a  more 
correct  notion  of  human  nature  than  we  have.  Their 
errors  in  physics  are  not  valid  security  for  their  accuracy 
in  metaphysics.  Truth  cannot  be  usefully  sought  in  the 
analysis  of  a  very  fine  but  very  old  book :  all  occult 
speculations  upon  secret  hebraic  exegeses  seem  to  me 
but  intellectual  sport,  to  the  results  of  which  the  words  of 
Ecclesiastes  might  well  be  applied  :  Habel  habalim  vekol 
hahel. 

I    may   pass   the    same   criticism  upon   theosophists. 


6  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

The  curious  mystical  movement  to  which  the  teachings 
of  Madame  Blavatsky,  Colonel  Olcott,  and  Mrs.  Besant 
have  given  birth  in  Europe  and  in  America  has  not 
yet  been  arrested.  Many  cultured  minds  and  refined 
intelligences  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  led  away  by 
the  neo-buddhistic  evangile ;  doubtless  they  find  what  they 
look  for  in  the  *  Secret  Doctrine '  or  in  *  Isis  Unveiled/ 
"Trahit  sua  quemque  volwptas.  I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  the  Upanishads  have  no  more  a  monopoly  of  truth 
than  the  Bible  has,  and  that  every  philosophy  ought  to 
hold  fast  to  the  study  of  Nature  if  it  wishes  to  live 
and  progress.  This  is,  moreover,  the  advice  of  a  man 
whom  theosophists  and  occultists  alike  respect — I  mean 
Paracelsus — '  Man  is  here  below  to  instruct  himself  in 
the  light  of  Nature.' 

That  is  what  spiritists  claim  to  do.  Their  philo- 
sophy, to  use  the  term  which  they  themselves  employ 
to  designate  their  doctrine,  is  founded,  they  say,  upon 
fact  and  experience.  It  is  not  a  revelation,  contemporary 
with  the  splendour  of  Thebes  or  the  pomp  of  Anoka's 
court,  which  gives  the  foundation  to  their  dogmas.  It 
is  an  everyday  revelation,  a  real,  continuous,  and  per- 
manent revelation.  Their  ideas  concerning  our  origin 
and  destiny,  their  certitude  of  immortality  and  the 
persistence  of  human  individuality,  are  due  to  well- 
informed  witnesses.  These  are  no  less  than  the  spirits 
of  the  dead,  who  come  to  enlighten  them  and  to  tell 
them  what  is  done  in  the  hereafter. 

I  envy  them  their  simple  faith,  but  I  do  not  altogether 
share  it.  I  am  persuaded  that  our  individuality  has  an 
infinitely  longer  period  given  it  for  its  evolution  than 
one   human  existence.      But   it  is  not  from  spiritistic 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  7 

seances  that  I  have  derived  my  belief ;  no,  my  belief  is 
of  a  philosophical  kind,  and  is  the  result  of  pondering 
over  what  I  know  of  life,  of  nature,  and  of  the  extremely 
slow  development  of  the  human  species.  It  is  true  the 
knowledge  I  possess  is  limited,  and  my  belief  wavers  ; 
yet  the  probabilities  seem  to  me  favourable  to  the 
persistence  of  that  mysterious  centre  of  energy  which  we 
call  individuality. 

This  opinion,  however,  has  not  been  derived  from 
spiritistic  communications  :  I  think  these  have  an  origin 
other  than  that  given  them  by  Allan  Kardec's  disciples. 

Naturally  I  am  only  speaking  of  my  own  personal 
experience ;  I  do  not  permit  myself  to  pronounce  as 
erroneous  those  convictions  based  upon  facts  not  seen 
by  myself.  Therefore  I  do  not  wish  to  say  that  spiritists 
are  always  the  victims  of  delusion  ;  I  can  only  say  that 
the  messages,  received  by  me  and  purporting  to  come 
from  the  other  side  of  the  grave,  have  seemed  to  me 
to  emanate  from  a  different  source. 

At  the  same  time,  to  be  exact  and  sincere  I  ought 
to  add  that,  if  my  conviction  has  not  been  won,  I  have 
observed  in  one  or  two  circumstances  certain  facts  which 
have  left  me  most  perplexed. 

Unfortunately  for  spiritism,  an  objection,  which  seems 
to  me  irrefutable,  can  be  made  to  the  spirits'  teaching. 
In  all  parts  of  Europe,  the  '  spirits  *  vouch  for  reincar- 
nation. Often  they  indicate  the  moment  they  are  going 
to  reappear  in  a  human  body ;  and  they  relate  still 
more  readily  the  past  avatars  of  their  followers.  On 
the  contrary,  in  England  the  spirits  assure  us  that  there 
is  no  reincarnation.  The  contradiction  is  formal, 
positive,   and   irreconcilable.      Those  who    are  inclined 


8  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  doubt  the  correctness  of  what  I  affirm  have  only  to 
glance  through  and  compare  the  writings  of  English 
and  French  spiritists;  for  example,  those  of  Allan 
Kardec,  Denys,  Delanne,  and  those  of  Stainton- Moses. 
How  are  we  to  form  an  opinion  worthy  of  acceptance  ? 
Who  speak  the  truth  ?  European  spirits  or  Anglo- 
Saxon  spirits  ?  Probably  spiritistic  messages  do  not 
emanate  from  very  well-informed  witnesses.  Such  is  the 
conclusion  arrived  at  by  AksakofF,  one  of  the  cleverest 
and  most  enlightened  of  spiritists.  He  himself  acknow- 
ledges that  one  is  never  certain  of  the  identity  of  the 
communicating  intelligence  at  a  spiritistic  sitting. 

Although  I  do  not  share  the  views  of  occultists, 
theosophists,  and  spiritists,  I  can  indeed  say  that  their 
groups— at  least  those  which  I  have  frequented — are 
composed  of  people  worthy,  sincere,  and  convinced. 
Occultists  and  theosophists  devote  themselves  perhaps 
more  particularly  to  the  development  of  those  mysterious 
faculties  which,  according  to  them,  exist  in  man,  while 
spiritists  are  more  inclined  to  call  forth  communica- 
tions from  their  spirit  friends,  but  the  anxious  care  of 
one  and  all  is  the  moral  development  of  their  groups. 

Solicitude  for  the  ethical  culture  of  humanity  is 
characteristic  of  these  mystic  groups.  Occultism  and 
theosophy  draw  their  recruits  more  especially  from 
intellectual  centres ;  the  circle  of  spiritism  is  much 
wider.  The  simplicity  of  its  teachings  and  methods 
attracts  those  who  shrink  before  the  personal  edification 
of  a  creed  :  for  it  is  a  painful  undertaking  and  a  heavy 
task  for  each  individual  to  form  his  own  philosophy. 
It  is  more  convenient  to  accept  indications  which  are 
already  made,  and  to  believe  affirmations  which  are — in 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  9 

appearance — sincere  and  well  informed.  Long  centuries 
of  religious  discipline  have  accustomed  the  human  mind 
to  certain  acts  of  faith,  and  to  shun  all  free  discussion, 
as  soon  as  there  is  any  question  of  future  destinies.  It 
is  difficult  to  shake  off  this  atavism. 

This  is  what  makes  the  success  of  spiritism  ;  it  comes 
at  its  appointed  time,  and  supplies  a  wide-felt  need. 


The  psychological  condition  of  society  to-day  is  of 
an  extremely  perturbed  nature,  as  slight  reflection  will 
suffice  to  show.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  conflict 
between  science  and  religion,  but  the  truth  has  not  yet 
been  sounded.  It  is  no  ordinary  conflict  which  is  now 
taking  place  between  science  and  revelation :  it  is  a  life- 
and-death  struggle.  And  it  is  easy  to  foresee  which 
side  will  succumb. 

It  even  seems  as  though  the  final  death-struggles  of 
Christian  dogma  had  already  set  in.  What  man,  sincere 
and  unbiased  in  his  opinions,  could  repeat  to-day  the 
famous  credo  quia  ahsurdum }  Are  we  not  insulting  the 
Divinity — if  He  exists — when  we  refuse  to  make  use  of 
His  most  precious  gifts  ?  when  we  abstain  from  applying 
the  full  force  of  our  intelligence  and  reason  to  the  exami- 
nation of  our  destiny  and  our  duties  to  ourselves  and  to 
others  ? 

This  abdication  is  nevertheless  demanded  of  us — by 
Roman  Catholicism  for  example,  which  exacts  unquali- 
fied adhesion  to  its  dogmas,  blind  belief  in  its  Church's 
teachings,  blind  belief  in  the  affirmations  of  its  infallible 
pope.  It  seems  to  me  inadmissible  that  the  God  of 
Roman  Catholics  should  approve  of  such  indifference. 


lo         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

It  is  obvious  that  I  do  not  wish  to  write  a  history  of 
ecclesiastical  controversy.  I  have  too  much  respect  for 
others  to  allow  myself  to  attack  what  are  still  widely 
accepted  creeds.  My  duty  is  but  to  study  the  general 
aspect  of  revelation,  and  to  draw  therefrom  such  conclu- 
sions as  are  necessary  to  my  acquirements. 

It  is  an  easy  study.  The  most  enlightened  intellects 
stand  aloof  from  revealed  religions.  I  mean  the  majority, 
for  there  is  still  a  small  minority  which  remains  faithful 
to  dying  creeds. 

Even  the  less  cultivated  intelligences  are  beginning 
to  feel  the  insufficiency  of  revelation.  The  Divinity's 
incarnation  and  death,  in  order  to  redeem  a  race  so 
unworthy  of  such  a  sacrifice,  begins  to  astound  them  ; 
they  wonder  at  such  solicitude  for  the  inhabitants  of  one 
of  the  least  important  spheres  in  the  universe.  They  are 
also  surprised  at  the  inexorable  severity  of  a  God  who, 
before  granting  pardon  to  mankind,  demands  his  only 
son's  death;  a  God  who,  for  the  petty  trespasses  of 
beings  far  removed  from  himself,  demands  an  eternity 
of  suffering  as  chastisement  for  such  ephemeral  insults. 
All  this  fails  to  satisfy  those  souls  who  are  enamoured  of 
truth  and  justice.  These  dogmas  give  man  a  cosmical 
importance  which  he  does  not  possess,  and  imputes  to 
God  a  susceptibility  and  cruelty  altogether  unworthy  of 
the  Supreme  Being. 

We  could  easily  find  other  examples  ;  but  I  do  not 
think  it  necessary  to  bring  them  to  bear  upon  my  conclu- 
sion ;  a  conclusion,  moreover,  which  is  admitted  by  the 
clergy  themselves,  who  complain  unceasingly  of  society's 
growing  indifference. 

But  is  society  really  so  indifferent  ?     I  do  not  think 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  ii 

so.  We  find  indiiFerence  among  the  richer  and  more 
cultured  classes,  where  some  give  themselves  up  to 
pleasure,  others  to  science,  in  reality  each  one  seeking 
only  that  which  will  amuse  or  interest  him  or  herself ; 
but  those  who  are  without  resources,  those  whom  life 
molests  and  wearies,  those  who  are  afraid  at  the  idea  of 
death  and  annihilation,  those  who  have  need  of  some 
consolation,  of  spme  hope,  those  people  are  not  indifferent. 
If  these  forsake  the  churches  and  temples,  it  is  because 
they  do  not  find  therein  what  they  are  seeking.  The 
spiritual  nourishment  offered  them  has  lost  its  savour  ; 
they  ask  for  something  more  substantial  and  less 
contestable. 

Besides,  even  in  the  most  highly  cultured  classes,  this 
need  begins  to  make  itself  felt.  Such  men  as  Myers, 
Sidgwick,  Gurney,  to  speak  only  of  the  dead,  took  up 
the  study  of  psychical  phenomena  with  the  desire  of 
finding  therein  the  proof  of  a  future  life.  Myers  died 
after  having  found — or  thought  he  had  found — the 
sought-for  demonstration. 

Professor  Haeckel  of  Jena  drew  up  a  philosophy  for 
himself!  His  materialistic  monism  is  the  outward 
expression  of  his  belief :  but  this  is  also  ill-adapted  to 
satisfy  that  longing,  the  extent  and  force  of  which  I  have 
just  touched  upon. 


Now  spiritism  lays  claim  to  satisfying  these  longings  ; 
and  it  does  satisfy  them,  when  only  simple  souls  are 
concerned,  simple  souls  who  do  not  dream  of  life's 
complexities.  The  phenomena  of  spiritistic  seances — and 
these  arc  real  phenomena — are  the  miracles  which  come 


12  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  confirm  the  spirits'  teachings.  Why  should  they 
doubt  ? 

Therefore  the  clients  of  spiritism  are  increasing  in 
number  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  The  extent  to 
which  this  doctrine  is  spreading  is  one  of  the  most  curious 
things  of  the  day.  I  believe  we  are  beholding  the  dawn 
of  a  veritable  religion  ;  a  religion  without  a  ritual  and 
without  an  organised  clergy,  and  yet  with  assemblies  and 
practices  which  make  it  a  veritable  cult.  As  for  me,  I 
take  a  great  interest  in  these  meetings  ;  they  give  me 
the  impression  that  I  am  assisting  at  the  birth  of  a 
religious  movement  called  to  a  great  destiny. 

Will  my  anticipations  be  realised  ?  The  future  alone 
can  tell.  My  opinion  has  been  formed  on  impartial  and 
disinterested  observation.  Notwithstanding  the  sympathy 
that  I  feel  for  those  groups  which  have  been  kind  enough 
to  adrhit  me  into  their  midst,  notwithstanding  the  friend- 
ship which  binds  me  to  many  of  their  members,  I  have 
never  wished  to  be  of  their  propaganda,  nor  even  to 
allow  them  to  think  that  I  shared  their  views.  I  have 
always  plainly  told  them  that  I  was  by  no  means  con- 
vinced of  the  constant  intervention  of  spirits  ;  I  have 
not  concealed  from  them  that  other  and,  as  I  thought, 
more  probable  explanations  could  be  given  to  the  pheno- 
mena they  witnessed  ;  perhaps  they  have  appreciated  my 
frankness.  In  any  case,  I  am  very  grateful  for  the  courtesy 
and  kindliness  with  which  they  allowed  me  to  observe 
the  phenomena  at  their  sittings,  to  listen  to  their 
mediums'  teachings,  and  to  express  my  opinions,  which 
are  so  unlike  their  own. 

I  am  neither  spiritist,  nor  theosophist,  nor  occultist. 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  13 

I  do  not  believe  in  occult  sciences,  nor  in  the  super- 
natural, nor  in  miracles.  I  believe  we  know  as  yet  very- 
little  of  the  world  we  are  living  in,  and  that  we  still  have 
everything  to  learn.  The  cleverest  men  in  all  epochs  show 
an  unconscious  tendency  to  suppose  that  facts,  which  are 
incompatible  with  their  ideas,  are  supernatural  or  false. 
More  modest  but  also  more  cruel,  our  forefathers,  the 
theologians  and  lawyers,  burnt  sorcerers  and  magicians 
without  accusing  them  of  fraud  :  to-day  most  of  our 
savants,  being  more  affirmative  and  less  rigorous,  accuse 
mediums  and  thaumaturgists  of  fraud,  but  without  con- 
demning them  to  the  stake.  In  reality  their  state  of 
mind  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  ancient  exorcists  ; 
they  have  the  same  intolerance,  and  the  different  treat- 
ment meted  out  to  their  subjects  is  only  due  to  the 
progressive  improvement  in  manners  and  customs. 

Even  those  savants  who  are  the  most  interested  in 
psychical  research  are  afraid  of  confessing  their  curiosity. 
It  requires  the  broad-mindedness  of  a  Crookes  or  a 
Lodge,  of  a  Duclaux  or  a  Richet,  of  a  Rochas  or  a 
Lombroso  to  dare  to  take  a  stand  and  openly  show  an 
interest  in  this  field  of  research.  Some  day,  however, 
these  same  suspicious  researches  will  be  their  experi- 
menters' best  claim  to  fame.  The  present  attitude  of 
official  science  towards  medianic  phenomena  is  to  be 
regretted ;  its  scientific  *  cant '  has  grievous  results. 
The  history  of  the  International  Psychological  Institute 
is  instructive  in  this  respect.  What  a  pity  that  such 
learned,  remarkable,  and  competent  men,  as  Janet  for 
example,  should  have  shrunk  from  the  epithet  *  psychic '  ! 
The  need  for  a  psychical  institute  existed,  not  a  psycho- 
logical one,  of  which  there  are  already  enough. 


14         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

It  is  precisely  the  attitude  of  respectable  scientific 
circles  which  appears  to  me  a  mistake,  demanding  recti- 
fication. I  understand  perfectly  and  excuse  this  attitude. 
For  so  many  incorrect  things  have  been  affirmed,  so 
many  ridiculous  practices  have  been  recommended  by 
the  leaders  of  the  occult  movement,  that  official  repre- 
sentatives of  science  must  have  felt  indignant.  Un- 
fortunately no  one  except  Richet  has  ventured  to  do  for 
the  phenomena  vouched  for  by  occultists  and  spiritists, 
what  Charcot  has  done  for  the  magnetisers'  allegations. 
No  doubt,  this  other  Charcot  will  come  when  the  time 
is  ripe. 

The  preparatory  work  will  have  been  done,  and  he 
need  only  resume  the  experiments  of  Richet,  Crookes, 
Lodge,  Rochas,  Ochorowicz,  and  many  others. 

I  class  myself  with  these  experimenters.  Many  of 
them  are  my  friends,  and,  if  our  manner  of  thinking  be 
not  quite  the  same,  my  ideas  upon  the  method  to  be 
used  are  much  the  same  as  theirs.  And  thus  I  find 
myself  quite  naturally  led  to  say  what  my  ideas 
are. 

I  believe  in  the  reality  of  certain  phenomena  which  I 
have  been  able  to  verify  over  and  over  again.  I  see  no 
need  to  attribute  these  phenomena  to  any  supernatural 
intervention.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  they  are  pro- 
duced by  some  force  existing  within  ourselves. 

I  believe  also  that  these  facts  can  be  subjected  to 
scientific  observation.  I  say  observation  and  not  experi- 
mentation, because  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  yet  possible 
to  proceed  on  veritable  experimental  lines.  In  order  to 
experiment  one  must  understand  the  conditions  necessary 
to  produce  a  given  result ;  now,  in  our  case,  we  have  a 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  15 

most  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  required  conditions, 
which  are,  nevertheless,  necessary  antecedents  to  the 
sought-for  phenomena.  We  are  in  the  position  of  the 
astronomer  who  can  put  his  eye  to  the  telescope  and 
observe  the  firmament,  but  who  cannot  provoke  the  pro- 
duction of  a  single  celestial  phenomenon. 

My  position  is  therefore  very  simple.  It  is  that  of 
an  impartial  observer.  The  occult  sciences  and  spiritism 
never  aroused  my  curiosity,  and  I  was  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age,  when  my  attention  was  drawn  towards 
psychical  phenomena.  I  did  not  even  try  to  turn  a  table 
before  I  was  thirty-five,  considering  such  facts  as  un- 
worthy of  serious  examination.  It  is  only  since  1892 
that  I  have  become  interested  in  these  researches. 

I  cannot  remember  to-day  how  I  was  led  to  take  up 
the  study  ;  it  was  not  abruptly.  I  am  certain  that  no 
striking  incident  was  ever  responsible  for  a  sudden 
changing  of  my  mind.  As  far  as  my  recollection  goes, 
I  think  it  was  the  chance  perusal  of  some  theosophical 
works,  which  made  me  curious  to  know  the  extent  of  a 
mystical  movement,  whose  existence  I  had  not  even  sus- 
pected. My  discoveries  astonished  me,  for  I  never 
thought  that  mysticism  could  find  adherents  at  the  end 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  opening  address  pro- 
nounced by  me  at  the  Court  of  Appeal  at  Limoges  in 
1893  was  upon  this  subject. 

This  address  brought  me  many  correspondents,  and  I 
was  led  to  experiment  myself.  My  first  results  were 
negative,  and  except  a  few  interesting  experiments  made 
at  Limoges  with  a  lady  of  that  town — a  remarkable 
medium — and  her  husband,  the  phenomena  which  I 
observed  were  not  of  a  nature  to  convince  me.    In  1895 


1 6  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

I  went  to  I'Agnelas,  and  took  part  in  the  experiments  of 
MM.  de  Rochas,  Dariex,  Sabatier,  de  Gramont  and  de 
Watteville.  The  report  of  these  experiments  has  been 
pubHshed  in  the  Annates  des  Sciences  Psychiques, 

Surprised  at  these  manifestations,  I  became  filled  with 
the  desire  to  investigate  further  ;  and  soon  afterwards 
curiosity  prompted  me  to  take  advantage  of  a  leisure 
moment  to  resume  the  I'Agnelas  experiments.  In  1896 
Eusapia  Paladino  was  kind  enough  to  spend  a  fortnight 
at  my  house  at  Choisy,  near  Bordeaux.  MM.  de 
Rochas,  Watteville,  Gramont,  Brincard,  and  General 
Thomassin  were  present  at  all  or  some  of  these  experi- 
ments. The  Attorney-General,  M.  Lefranc,  my  friend 
and  chief,  was  also  present  at  one  of  our  sittings.  M. 
Bechade  and  a  Bordeaux  medium,  Madame  Agullana, 
were  also  my  guests.  The  results  of  these  sittings  have 
been  noted  down  by  M.  de  Rochas  in  a  small  volume 
which  has  not  been  made  public.  More  and  more 
interested,  and  desirous  of  investigating  still  further 
what  I  had  seen  with  Eusapia,  I  begged  her  to  pay  me 
another  visit.  She  consented,  and  returned  in  1897, 
giving  me  another  fortnight,  this  time  in  my  home  at 
Bordeaux.  The  phenomena  which  my  friends  and  I 
obtained  on  that  occasion  were  as  demonstrative  as 
before. 

Eusapia  is  not  the  only  medium  with  whom  I  have 
experimented.  Madame  Agullana  of  Bordeaux,  with  her 
customary  disinterestedness,  has  given  me  many  sittings  : 
the  results  I  obtained  with  her  are  of  a  different  order. 
I  also  brought  twice  to  Bordeaux  the  young  mediums  of 
Agen,  where  a  previous  opportunity  had  been  given  me 
of  observing  them  ;  at  Agen  their  phenomena  had  won 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  17 

for  their  home  the  reputation  of  being  haunted.  Lastly, 
I  have  found  some  remarkable  mediums  at  Bordeaux, 
among  those  who  did  me  the  honour  of  admitting  me 
to  their  sittings.  I  also  came  across  a  large  number  of 
mediums  manifesting  automatic  phenomena  only  ;  these, 
too,  were  interesting  in  their  way,  for  they  enabled 
me  to  note  and  understand  the  difference  between  so- 
called  supernatural  phenomena  and  phenomena  which  are 
but  the  expression  of  an  activity,  which,  in  appearance  at 
least,  is  extraneous  to  the  ordinary  personality. 

Finally,  I  have  frequently  come  across  fraud.  This 
was  instructive,  and  I  observed  the  fraudulent  with 
patience  and  interest.  The  tricks  of  voluntary  fraud 
deserve  to  be  known  and  studied,  as  one  is  then  better 
able  to  frustrate  and  checkmate  them.  Involuntary 
fraud — far  more  common  than  voluntary  fraud — is  no 
less  instructive,  for  it  throws  a  vivid  light  upon  the 
curious  phenomena  of  automatic  activity. 

It  is  not  always  becoming  to  entertain  one's  readers 
with  personalities,  but  I  think  I  ought  to  infringe  a  little 
upon  decorum,  in  order  to  specify  the  state  of  mind  in 
which  I  have  pursued  my  observations.  From  the  very 
beginning  I  was  struck  by  a  fact  which  seems  beyond 
doubt.  I  saw  that  certain  manifestations — to  all  appear- 
ances supernormal  —  could  only  be  studied  with  the 
assistance  of  nervous  and  mental  pathology.  Therefore 
I  went  to  school  again,  and  for  six  years  I  studied  assid- 
uously clinical  medicine  at  the  University  of  Bordeaux. 
It  is  not  within  my  present  scope  to  write  the  panegyric 
of  the  masters  to  whose  teachings  I  listened,  their  names 
would  seem  out  of  place  in  a  book  like  this.  But  I  may 
say  that  the  interest  which  I  took  in  my  medical  studies 

B 


1 8         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

became  more  lively,  as  I  understood  their  importance 
better  and  better.  Doubtless  the  notions  which  I  have 
acquired  are  most  rudimentary,  but  however  unpretentious 
they  may  be,  they  have  enabled  me  to  understand  the 
mechanism  of  certain  manifestations,  and  to  bring  a  more 
precise  judgment  to  bear  upon  their  psychological  value. 

I  am,  therefore,  an  interested  but  impartial  onlooker. 
It  matters  little  to  me  if  a  table  or  a  chair  moves  of  its 
own  accord  ;  I  have  no  particular  desire  to  see  them 
accomplish  these  movements.  The  only  interest,  which 
I  find  in  this  fact,  is  its  truth.  Its  reality  alone  is  of 
value  to  me,  and  I  have  applied  myself  to  establish  this 
without  any  possible  error.  My  unique  preoccupation 
has  been  to  make  sure  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomena 
which  I  observed.  The  pursuit  of  truth  has  been  my 
sole  concern. 

True,  1  sought  it  in  my  own  way;  for  I  preferred 
to  build  my  conviction  upon  a  basis  which  would  satisfy 
my  intelligence  and  my  reason,  rather  than  impose  a 
priori  conditions  which  the  experiment  ought  to  satisfy  in 
order  to  convince  me.  I  am  ignorant  of  most  of  these 
conditions,  and  I  think  that  every  one  else  is  also.  Con- 
sequently, I  consider  it  imprudent  to  establish  beforehand 
the  conditions  under  which  the  experiments  are  to  be 
made,  in  order  to  merit  being  recorded.  It  might  just 
happen,  that  one  of  the  conditions  thus  laid  down 
rendered  the  experiment  impracticable.  Therefore  I 
have  observed  rather  than  experimented. 

My  manner  of  proceeding  has  been  productive  of 
many  happy  results  ;  for  the  curious  phenomena  which 
I  have  been  able  to  observe  are  capricious  ;  they  shun 
those  who  would  force  them,  and  offer  themselves  to 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  19 

those  who  wait  for  them  patiently.  This  behaviour, 
this  spontaneity,  is  not  the  least  astonishing  feature  in 
this  line  of  observation. 

I  have  always  thought  that  there  was  nothing  of  a 
supernatural  order  in  these  phenomena.  My  conclusions 
have  not  changed  ;  but  let  us  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  expression.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  these  pheno- 
mena are  always  in  accordance  with  nature's  laws  such  as 
we  understand  them  to-day.  I  am  certain  that  we  are 
in  the  presence  of  an  unknown  force  ;  its  manifestations 
do  not  seem  to  obey  the  same  laws,  as  those  governing 
other  forces  more  familiar  to  us  ;  but  I  have  no  doubt 
they  obey  some  law,  and  perhaps  the  study  of  these 
phenomena  will  lead  us  to  the  conception  of  laws  more 
comprehensive  than  those  already  known.  Some  future 
Newton  will  discover  a  more  complete  formula  than 
ours. 

My  position,  therefore,  seems  to  me  to  be  well  defined. 
I  have  held  myself  aloof  from  those  who  denied  upon 
bias,  and  also  from  those  who  asserted  too  rashly.  I 
have  remained  within  the  margin  of  science.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  bring  to  bear  upon  my  experiments 
methods  of  scientific  observation.  I.  wish  to  go  in 
neither  for  occultism,  nor  for  spiritism,  nor  for  any- 
thing mysterious  or  supernatural.  Many  who  know 
me  imperfectly  may  think  that  I  have  given  reins  to 
my  imagination,  that  I  am  an  adept  in  theosophy,  neo- 
martinism,  or  spiritism.  Such  is  not  the  case.  I  seek, 
and  I  have  found — very  little  ;  others  have  been  more 
fortunate  than  I.  Some  day  perhaps  I  shall  have  the 
same  good  luck.  But  I  shall  not  touch  upon  what 
others  have  done,  save   as  an  accessory  ;   I   shall  only 


20         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

speak  of  what  I  myself  have  seen  and  what  I  myself 
think.  My  book  is  the  statement  of  a  witness — it 
has  no  other  signification. 

One  word  in  conclusion.  A  great  number  of  my 
experiments  have  been  made  with  people  who  wish  to 
preserve  their  incognito.  I  have  never  been  wanting  in 
discretion  when  this  was  asked  of  me,  and  have  never 
disclosed  the  names  of  those  who  placed  their  confidence 
in  me,  permitting  me  to  experiment  with  them  whilst 
desirous  of  remaining  unknown.  I  have  sometimes 
found  very  remarkable  mediums  among  these  anonymous 
experimenters.  Some  of  my  sittings  with  them  have 
been  truly  admirable  on  account  of  the  clear,  distinct 
nature  of  the  phenomena  obtained.  I  beg  these  trusting 
friends  to  accept  my  heartfelt  thanks. 

May  my  book  have  the  good  fortune  to  contribute, 
however  feebly,  towards  removing  the  prejudices  which 
keep  away  so  many  likely  experimenters  from  these  studies 
and  researches.  These  prejudices  are  manifold :  there 
is  the  fear  of  ridicule,  the  religious  scruple,  the  delusive 
dread  of  nervous  or  mental  disease,  the  terror  of  an 
unknown  world  peopled  with  strange,  mysterious  beings. 
But  time  will  dispel  all  this,  and  I  believe  that  a  day  will 
come,  when  these  facts — well  studied,  well  observed  — 
will  change  our  conceptions  of  things  in  a  way  little 
dreamt  of  to-day.  The  sphere  of  '  Psychical  Science ' 
is  unmeasurable.  A  few  pioneers  only  are  exploring 
therein  to-day  ;  when  the  land  has  been  tilled  and  culti- 
vated it  will  yield,  I  am  sure,  a  wonderful  crop — the 
harvest  will  surpass  the  dreams  of  imagination. 

But  let  those  who,  thanks  to  a  scientific  education,  are 
particularly   well  qualified   to   undertake  these    studies, 


PRELIMINARY  REMARKS  21 

cease  to  consider  them  unworthy  of  their  attention.  In 
holding  themselves  aloof  they  commit  a  mistake  which 
they  will  bitterly  regret  some  day.  Allowing  even  that 
the  first  experimenter  may  be  guilty  of  mistakes,  there 
will  always  remain  something  out  of  the  facts  which  they 
have  observed.  Mistakes  are  unavoidable  in  the  debut 
of  a  new  science  :  the  methods  are  uncertain,  and  the 
novelty  of  the  phenomena  makes  their  analysis  difficult ; 
time,  labour  in  common,  and  experience  will  remedy 
these  inevitable  inconveniences. 

It  would  be  very  easy  to  give  examples  of  the 
delay  which  scientific  prejudice  has  brought  to  bear  upon 
scientific  progress.  This  criticism  has  already  been  very 
frequently  and  wittily  made.  Even  those  men,  whose 
discoveries  have  placed  them  at  the  head  of  the  intellectual 
movement  of  their  generation,  are  not  altogether  free 
from  blame,  yielding  too  often  to  the  deplorable  tendency 
of  converting  natural  laws  into  dogmas.  They  commit 
the  same  fault  they  object  to  in  theologians.  Man  has  a 
wonderful  aptitude  for  laying  hold  of  his  neighbours' 
faults  and  remaining  blind  to  his  own,  and  probably  it 
will  be  so  for  a  long  time  to  come.  I  would  like  to  see 
science  rid  itself  for  good  and  all  of  this  theological  habit 
of  mind. 

Science  has  only  to  think  about  facts.  There  should 
be  no  distinction  made  between  the  various  phenomena 
observed  :  it  is  not  beseeming  to  adopt  certain  facts,  and 
refuse  analysis  to  others,  excluding  them  on  the  ground, 
for  example,  that  their  examination  belongs  to  religion. 
Every  natural  fact  ought  to  be  studied,  and,  if  it  be  real, 
incorporated  with  the  patrimony  of  knowledge.  What 
matters  its  apparent  contradiction  with  the  laws  of  nature. 


22  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

such  as  we  understand  them  to-day  ?  These  laws  are  not 
principles  superior  to  our  experience  ;  they  are  but  the 
expression  of  our  experience  :  our  knowledge  is  very 
limited  and  our  experience  is  still  young  —  it  will 
grow,  and  its  development  will  bring  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  a  corresponding  modification  in  our 
conception  of  nature.  Therefore,  let  us  not  be  too 
positive  of  the  accuracy  of  present  ideas,  and  arbitrarily 
reject  everything  which  we  think  runs  counter  to  them. 
Do  not  dogmatise  ;  let  our  only  care  be  the  impartial 
search  for  truth.  Nothing  will  better  enable  us  to 
understand  the  surroundings  in  the  midst  of  which  we 
are  evolving  than  facts,  which  are  apparently  irreconcilable 
with  current  ideas :  these  facts  betoken  that  the  ideas  are 
erroneous  or  incomplete  ;  their  attentive  observation  will 
reveal  a  more  general  formula  which  will  explain  at  one 
and  the  same  time  the  new  and  the  old.  And  thus 
from  antithesis  to  synthesis,  more  and  more  universal, 
our  scientific  ideas  will  tend  towards  absolute  truth. 

Alas  !  how  far  away  from  this  ideal  do  we  seem  to  be 
to-day  !     Labor  emus  ! 


METHOD 


^3 


CHAPTER   I 

METHOD 

A  French  proverb  says,  *  we  must  have  eggs  to  make  an 
omelette ' :  in  order  to  be  able  to  study  psychical  pheno- 
mena we  must  have  psychical  phenomena.  This  seems 
an  elementary  proposition,  and  yet  it  is  the  very  one  we 
most  readily  overlook.  I  have  already  said  why  and 
wherefore. 

Therefore,  I  deem  it  necessary  to  indicate  at  once  the 
methods  which  have  appeared  to  me  to  give  the  most 
favourable  results.  Those  of  my  readers  who  may  wish 
to  verify  the  accuracy  of  my  conclusions  will,  I  am  sure, 
have  the  opportunity  of  doing  so,  if  they  operate  as  I 
have  done.  First  of  all,  I  must  warn  them  against 
caring  for  the  world's  opinion.  They  must  not  be  afraid 
of  exposing  themselves  to  ridicule.  No  doubt  there  is 
temptation  to  make  a  jest  of  the  methods  which  I  advise  ; 
but  I  strongly  recommend  them  to  think  about  the  result, 
and  not  about  the  means  used  to  obtain  that  result. 

Psychical  phenomena  are  of  two  orders  :  material  and 
intellectual.  The  methods  best  suited  to  the  study  of 
the  first  are  not,  in  my  opinion,  adapted  to  the  study  of 
the  second.  There  is  a  distinction,  therefore,  to  be 
made  in  the  beginning  between  these  two  categories  of 
facts. 


24         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Physical  phenomena  are  the  least  frequently  met  with  ; 
they  include  : — 

1 .  Knockings  or  ^  raps '  on  furniture,  walls,  floors,  or 
on  the  experimenters  themselves. 

2.  Sundry  noises  other  than  raps. 

3.  Movements  of  objects  without  sufficient  contact  to 
explain  the  movement  produced.  There  is  here  a  dis- 
tinction to  be  made  between  (a)  movements  produced 
without  any  contact  whatever — telekinesis  :  e.g.  the  rising 
or  sliding  of  a  table  or  chair,  the  swaying  of  scales, 
etc.,  without  their  being  touched  ;  and  (b)  movements 
with  contact,  which  is  insufficient  to  explain  them — 
parakinesis  :  e.g,  the  levitation  of  a  table  on  which  the 
experimenters  lay  their  hands. 

4.  Apports :  that  is  to  say,  the  sudden  appearance 
of  objects — flowers,  sweets,  stones,  etc. — which  have 
not  been  brought  by  any  of  the  assistants.  This 
phenomenon — if  it  exists — supposes,  in  addition,  the 
following  : — 

5.  Penetrability,  or  the  passage  of  matter  through 
matter. 

6.  Visual  phenomena,  which  are  themselves  subdivided 
into  : — 

{a)  Vision  of  the  odic  effluvium. 

(^)  Amorphous  lights. 

(r)  Forms,  either  luminous  or  non-luminous. 

{a)  Lastly,  the  most  complete  phenomenon  of  all — 

the  materialisation    of  a    form,  human   or 

otherwise,  luminous  or  not. 

7.  Phenomena  which  leave  permanent  traces,  such  as 
imprints. 


METHOD  25 

8.  Alteration  in  the  weight  of  material  objects  or  of 
certain  people  :  levitation. 

9.  Perceptible  changes  in  the  temperature :  sensation 
of  cold  or  heat ;  spontaneous  combustion. 

10.  Cool  breezes. 

Such  are  the  chief  psychical  phenomena  of  the  material 
order,  which  have  been  pointed  out  by  different  experi- 
menters. I  have  not  verified  all  of  them  :  raps,  tele- 
kinetic,  and  a  few  luminous  phenomena  are  all  I  have 
obtained  in  a  thoroughly  satisfactory  manner. 

Intellectual  phenomena  are  those  which  imply  the 
expression  of  a  thought.  I  will  class  them  in  the 
following  manner  : — 

1.  Typtology  :  the  table,  upon  which  the  experi- 
menters lay  their  hands,  leans  to  one  side  and  recovers 
equilibrium  by  striking  the  ground. 

2.  Grammatology  or  spelt-out  sentences.  Various 
methods  may  be  used.     The  principal  are  : — 

(a)  Repeating  the  alphabet  until  a  rap  indicates  the 

letter  to  be  retained  ; 

(b)  Pointing    out   the   letters   of  the  alphabet   by 

means  of  a  pencil  or  stiletto,  etc.,  until  a 
rap  indicates  where  to  stop ; 
(f)  Finally,  the  designation  of  the  required  letters 
by  an  index-hand  on  a  pivot  fixed  in  the 
middle  of  a  circle  composed  of  the  alphabet, 
the  index-hand  moving  with  or  without 
contact. 

3.  Automatic  writing  :  immediate^  when  the  subject 
writes  without  the  intermedium  of  an  instrument ; 
mediate,  when  he  uses  an  instrument,  such  as  a  plan- 
chette,  a  wooden  ball  with  handles  fastened  to  it,  a  basket. 


26         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

a  hat,  a  stand,  etc.  In  this  case,  several  people  can 
combine  their  action  by  laying  their  hands  all  together 
upon  the  object  to  which  the  pencil  is  attached. 

4.  Direct  writing  :  i.e.  writing  which  appears  on  slates, 
paper,  etc.,  whether  in  or  out  of  sight  of  the  experi- 
menters. If  the  letters  seem  to  be  formed  without  the 
aid  of  a  pencil  we  have  precipitated  writing. 

5.  Incarnation  or  *  control':  the  subject,  when 
asleep,  speaks  in  the  name  of  some  entity  or  order, 
which  possesses  him. 

6.  Direct  voices  :  when  words  are  heard,  appearing  to 
emanate  from  vocal  organs  other  than  those  of  the 
persons  present;  some  experimenters  are  supposed  to 
have  conversed  in  this  way  with  materialised  forms. 

7.  Certain  automatisms  other  than  writing  are  observ- 
able :  e.g.  crystal-  and  mirror-gazing  ;  audition  in  conch- 
formed  shells ;  sundry  hallucinations,  telepathy  and 
telesthesia  :  *  the  communication  of  impressions  of  any 
kind  from  one  mind  to  another,  independently  of  the 
recognised  channels  of  sense ' ;  perception  at  a  distance 
of  positive  impressions.  These  phenomena  bring  in 
their  train  clairvoyance  or  voyance^  and  lucidity^  expres- 
sions which  are  by  no  means  identical.  Lucidity 
designates  more  particularly  the  faculty  which  certain 
people  have,  in  magnetic  sleep  or  in  somnambulism, 
of  getting  exact  impressions  in  a  supernormal  manner  ; 
clairvoyants  or  voyants  are  those  who  see  forms  in- 
visible to  other  people.  Clairaudience  denotes  phenomena 
of  the  same  kind  in  the  auditory  sphere. 

I  have  paid  scarcely  any  attention  to  these  intellectual 
phenomena,  with  the  exception  of  automatic  writing, 
crystal-gazing,  typtology,  and  '  control.*    If  I  have  taken 


METHOD  27 

greater  Interest  in  material  than  in  intellectual  pheno- 
mena, it  is  because  they  struck  me  as  being  more  simple 
and  easier  to  observe.  This  sentiment  is  not  that  of  all 
experimenters,  and  my  colleagues  of  the  London  Society 
for  Psychical  Research  appear  to  be  more  affirmative  in 
their  conclusions,  concerning  survival  after  death  and 
communication  with  the  dead,  than  in  their  opinions  on 
material  phenomena.  My  personal  experience  has  not 
led  me  to  the  same  ideas. 

Undoubtedly,  experiments  demonstrating  the  persist- 
ence of  human  personality  after  death  would  have  an 
interest,  in  comparison  with  which  all  others  would  be 
blotted  out.  But  the  analysis  of  phenomena  of  this 
kind  raises  difficulties,  which  are  much  more  compli- 
cated than  is  the  simple  observation  of  a  physical  fact. 
Intellectual  phenomena  always  suppose  some  kind  of 
motor  automatism  or  other ;  of  course,  I  am  not 
speaking  of  manifestations  where  the  will  of  the  sensitive 
intervenes  :  this  automatism  is  manifested  by  language, 
writing,  or  the  less  elevated  motor  phenomena,  typtology 
for  example  ;  it  may  also  be  sensory  and  manifest  itself 
in  hallucinations  of  various  kinds.  To  understand  the 
infinite  complication  of  intellectual  phenomena  it  suffices 
to  indicate  the  conditions  under  which  they  are  observed. 
Before  admitting  that  the  cause  of  the  apparent  auto- 
matism is  foreign  to  the  sensitive,  we  must  be  able  to 
eliminate  with  certitude  the  action  of  his  personal  or 
impersonal  conscience.  To  what  extent  does  the  sub- 
liminal memory  intervene? — a  first  difficulty  which  is 
scarcely  solvable  ! 

But  supposing  it  to  be  solved,  the  problem  still 
remains  almost  intact.     If  the  knowledge  of  a  positive 


28  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

fact,  certainly  unknown  to  the  medium,  appears  in  his 
automatic  communications,  we  must  not  thereupon 
conclude  that  this  knowledge  is  due  to  the  intervention 
of  a  disincarnated  spirit.  Telepathy  may  be  able  to 
explain  it.  Telepathy  is,  as  we  know,  the  transmission 
of  an  idea,  an  impression,  a  psychical  condition  of  some 
kind  or  other  from  one  person  to  another.  We  are 
altogether  ignorant  of  its  laws,  and  nothing  warrants 
the  assertion,  that  if  telepathy  is  a  fact — as  appears  most 
probable — it  is  therefore  necessary  that  any  particular 
motive  condition  should  exist  in  the  agent.  We  may 
suppose  with  just  as  much  reason,  that  the  existence  of 
a  souvenir  in  one  mind  can  be  discovered  and  recognised 
by  another,  under  conditions  solely  depending  on  the 
mental  state  of  the  percipient.  This  is,  properly  speaking, 
telesthesia.  Now  it  is  very  difficult  to  prove  that  the 
fact,  of  which  automatism  marks  the  knowledge,  is 
unknown  to  everybody.  It  is  even  impossible  to  prove 
it.  But  supposing  this  were  done,  there  would  always 
remain  the  possibility  of  attributing  the  communication 
to  some  being  other  than  human  :  by  admitting  even 
the  existence  of  spiritual  or  immaterial  beings  distinct 
from  ourselves,  nothing  warrants  us  to  affirm  that  such 
beings  are  our  deceased  relatives  or  friends  and  not 
some  facetious  Kobolds. 

Prediction  and  precognition,  of  which  I  have  had 
proof,  raise  just  as  complicated  questions  as  the  pre- 
ceding ones.  I  confine  myself  to  recording  without 
trying  to  explain  these  facts. 

Therefore,  I  have  given  my  preferences  to  the  study 
of  physical  phenomena,  because  in  such  I  have  not  to 
consider  the  mental  condition  of  the  subject,  nor  have 


METHOD 


29 


I  any  of  those  delicate  analyses  to  make,  the  complexity 
of  which  I  have  just  mentioned.    I  have  to  defend  myself 
against  only  two  enemies,  the  fraud  of  others  and  my  own 
illusions.     Now,  I  feel  certain  of  never  having  been  the 
victim  of  either.    When,  for  example,  in  the  refreshment- 
room  of  a  railway- station,  in  a  restaurant,  in  a  tea-shop, 
I  have  observed,  in  broad  daylight,  a  piece  of  furniture 
change  place  of  its  own  accord,  1  have  a  right  to  think  I 
am  not  in  the  presence  of  furniture  especially  arranged 
to  produce  such  effects.    When  the  unforeseen  nature  of 
the  experiment  excludes  the  hypothesis  of  preparation, 
when,  by  sight  and  touch,  I  make  sure  of  the  absence  of 
contact  between  the  experimenters  and  the  article  which 
is  displaced,  I  have  sufficient  reasons  for  excluding  the 
hypothesis   of  fraud.      When   I    measure  the  distance 
between  the  objects  before  and  after  the  displacement,  I 
have  also  sufficient  reason  for  excluding  the  hypothesis 
of  the  illusion  of  my  senses.    If  this  right  be  refused  me, 
I  should  really  like  to  know  how  any  fact  whatever  can 
be  observed.     No  one  is  more  convinced   than  myself 
of  the  frailty  of  our  impressions  and  the  relativity  of  our 
perceptions  ;   nevertheless,  there  must  be  some  way  of 
perceiving  a  phenomenon  in  order  to  submit  it  to  impar- 
tial observation.  Besides,  the  supposed  reproach  of  illusion 
cannot  be  applied  in  a  general  sense  ;  to  admit  its  justice 
would  be  to  do  away  with  the  very  foundations  of  our 
sciences.     It  can  only  be  applied  to  me  as  an  individual, 
and  I   willingly  admit   that  it   is  impossible  for  me  to 
exculpate  myself.     In  vain  might  I  plead  that  I  am  per- 
suaded of  the  regularity  of  my  perceptions,  in  vain  assert 
that  I   observe   no   tendency  to  illusion  in  myself,  my 
testimony  would  remain  none  the  less  suspected. 


30         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Consequently,  I  have  but  one  reply  for  those  who 
mistrust  my  qualifications  as  an  observer,  and  that  is  to 
invite  them  to  take  the  trouble  of  experimenting  on  their 
own  account,  using  the  methods  which  I  have  adopted. 
If,  a  'prion,  they  wish  to  lay  down  their  own  conditions, 
they  run  the  risk  of  receiving  no  appreciable  results. 
When  they  have  obtained  a  few  plain  facts  they  will  be 
able  to  vary  the  conditions  of  experimentation,  and 
satisfy  the  legitimate  exigencies  of  their  own  reason. 
That  is  what  I  did,  and  if  I  cannot  solemnly  affirm  the 
reality  of  the  phenomena  which  I  have  observed,  I  can 
at  all  events  affirm  my  personal  conviction  of  their  exist- 
ence. Maybe  I  am  showing  an  exaggerated  mistrust  of 
myself  by  thus  only  affirming  my  subjective  conviction, 
and  in  not  venturing  to  affirm  with  a  like  energy  the 
objective  reality  of  the  things  I  have  seen.  Yet  I  trust 
no  one  will  blame  me  for  my  prudent  reserve.  What 
man  can  say  he  has  never  made  a  mistake  ? 

Only  those,  who  put  themselves  in  the  same  conditions 
which  enabled  mc  to  make  my  observations,  have  a  right 
to  criticise  those  observations. 

To  criticise  without  experience  is  unreasonable,  and  I 
recognise  no  competence  in  those  judges  whose  decisions 
are  made  without  preliminary  information.  For  the  rest, 
I  have  no  wish  to  convert  any  one  to  my  ideas,  and  am 
indifferent — respectfully  indifferent,  if  you  like — to  the 
judgment  which  may  be  formed  about  me. 

The  methods  recommended  by  diverse  occult  schools 
vary  a  great  deal.  Theosophists  do  not  reveal  to  the 
profane  the  means  they  use  to  obtain  supernormal  facts. 
This  discretion  astonishes  me,  for  the  theosophical  society 
is  filled  with  a  lively  spirit  of  propagandism.     It  has  its 


METHOD 


31 


chief  centre  at  Adyar,  and  lodges  or  branches  everywhere. 
The  theosophical  reviews  venture  to  discuss  the  most  ele- 
vated problems  of  philosophy,  and  are  not  at  all  sparing 
of  the  most  extraordinary  revelations  of  esoteric  teaching ; 
but  they  are  remarkably  sparing  of  practical  indications. 

Theosophical  phenomenonalism  appears  to  derive  in- 
spiration from  Hindu- Yogism.  I  do  not  know  the 
rules  of  training  to  which  Yogis  submit  themselves. 
The  most  severe  abstinence  seems  to  be  recommended 
them.  Adepts  are  generally  initiated  by  their  Gurus  or 
masters,  and  I  have  not  been  fortunate  enough  to  be 
the  chela  of  an  initiated. 

The  French  occultists  who  are  connected  with  Eliphas 
Levy  by  Papus  (Dr.  Encausse),  Guaita,  Haven,  Barlet, 
Sedir,  recommend  the  practice  of  magic.  Descriptions 
of  the  necessary  magical  material  will  be  found  in 
treatises  by  Papus  and  Eliphas  Levy.  The  results 
which  the  Magi  relate  having  been  obtained  are  so  vague, 
that  I  have  had  no  curiosity  to  put  into  practice  the 
strange  proceedings  of  magic  ceremonial  recommended 
by  them.  These  have  a  serious  inconvenience  ;  namely, 
to  strike  the  imagination  of  credulous  folk,  and  to 
facilitate  auto-suggestion,  sensorial  illusions,  and  hallu- 
cinations. To  accomplish  the  rites,  moreover,  it  is 
necessary  to  dispose  of  rooms  arranged  in  a  particular 
way,  and  to  submit  oneself  to  a  severe  diet  for  a  certain 
time.  This  makes  it  a  complicated  matter.  Well,  I 
must  admit  I  was  ashamed  to  try  these  methods.  I 
lacked  the  courage  to  don  the  cloak  and  the  linen  robe, 
to  trace  the  circle,  and  with  lighted  lamp  and  sword  in 
hand  await  visions  about  to  appear  in  the  smoke  arising 
from  the  burning  incense.     I  own  I  was  perhaps  wrong 


32         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

not  to  try  what  are  apparently  the  less  rational  methods. 
Only  caring  for  the  result  obtained,  I  certainly  v/ould 
not  have  hesitated  to  resort  to  white  or  even  black 
magic,  had  I  had  any  reason  whatsoever  to  anticipate  a 
positive  result.  In  order  to  obtain  an  observable  fact,  I 
would  not  have  hesitated  laying  myself  open  to  ridicule. 
But  the  statements  of  experimenters  of  the  occult  school 
seemed  to  imply  a  poverty  of  practical  results.  If  the 
magi  of  the  present  day  had  realised  some  operation 
easily  accessible  to  observation,  they  would  not  have 
omitted  acquainting  us  of  the  fact  in  one  or  other 
of  their  numerous  reviews.  Their  silence  struck  me  as 
significant. 

Moreover,  the  very  essence  even  of  Hermetic 
doctrines,  openly  professed  by  occultists,  is  opposed 
to  all  such  divulgence.  The  ancient  doctrine  exacted 
initiation.  The  Rosicrucians,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
could  only  initiate  an  adept.  Then  again,  they  were 
allowed  to  use  this  privilege  only  upon  attaining  a 
certain  age,  and  when  convinced  of  having  found  a 
discreet  and  trustworthy  pupil.  All  that  publicity  made 
to-day  about  Hermetic  sciences  is  the  actual  negation  of 
their  first  precepts.  These  indiscretions  bring  to  my 
mind  the  words  of  one  of  my  predecessors  at  the 
Bordeaux  Court  [successor  of  the  ancient  Parliament 
of  Guyenne],  the  President  Jean  d'Espagnet,  one  of  the 
three  or  four  adepts  who  pass  for  having  unriddled  the 
great  arcanum.  '  Facilia  Intel  lee  tu  suspect  a  haheaty  he 
says,  speaking  to  the  seeker,  '  maxime  in  mysticis 
nominibus  et  arcanis  operationibus ;  in  obscuris  enim 
Veritas  delitescit ;  nee  unquam  dolosius  quam  quum  aperte^ 
nee  verius  quam  quum  obscure^  scribunt philosophic^ 


METHOD 


33 


Then,  again,  I  had  a  decisive  reason  for  choosing 
spiritistic  methods :  they  are  not  mysterious  and  they 
require  no  special  subjective  preparation.  They  are 
simple — in  appearance,  at  least — and  can  be  easily 
applied.  Spiritists,  and  certain  experimenters  who  have 
adopted  their  methods  without  sharing  their  theories, 
affirm  having  obtained  surprising  results.  Therefore, 
I  had  nothing  better  to  do  than  choose  these  same 
methods.  Because  of  their  simplicity,  and  the  multi- 
plicity of  certified  results,  I  considered  it  preferable  to 
adopt  the  methods  of  spiritists.  I  will,  therefore,  in- 
dicate how  I  experiment  when  I  am  free  to  direct  the 
sittings — which,  unfortunately,  is  not  always  the  case. 

I  shall  divide  my  indications  into  three  wide  categories : 
I.  Material  Conditions;  2.  Composition  of  the  Circle; 
3.  Methods  of  Operation. 

I  will  add  that  these  indications  are  not  absolute. 


I.    MATERIAL    CONDITIONS 

Results  are  generally  better,  when  operations  are 
carried  on  in  a  room  whose  dimensions  do  not  exceed 
15  to  20  square  yards  in  area,  and  12  to  15  feet  in 
height.  Smaller  rooms  may  be  used,  but  then  the  heat 
is  sometimes  trying. 

The  temperature  of  the  room  is  an  important  factor. 
Heat,  although  it  may  inconvenience  the  experimenters 
and  the  medium,  appears  to  exercise  a  favourable  influence 
on  the  emission  of  the  force.  On  the  contrary,  cold  is 
an  element  of  non-success.  Of  course,  I  am  speaking  of 
the  temperature  of  the  room.  I  would  advise  operating 
in  a  temperature  of  from  20  to  25  degrees  centigrade.    It 

C 


34  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

is  decidedly  necessary  to  avoid  having  cold  hands  and 
feet. 

In  winter  the  seance-room  should  be  thoroughly 
warmed  and  the  fire  allowed  to  go  out  before  the 
sitting,  in  case  luminous  phenomena  should  be  forth- 
coming. 

I  fancied  I  saw  an  advantage,  especially  for  movements 
without  contact,  in  operating  in  an  uncarpeted  room. 
The  carpet  not  only  seems  to  be  a  bad  element  generally, 
it  also  hinders  the  gliding  movements  of  the  table,  which 
are  often  only  very  slight. 

As  for  exterior  meteorological  conditions,  I  have 
noticed  that  a  dry  cold  favours  the  production  of 
psychical  phenomena :  it  is,  I  believe,  the  temperature 
optima.  In  any  case,  the  dryness  of  the  air  is  a  very 
good  condition.  I  have  noticed  that  the  phenomena 
were  more  easily  obtained,  when  outside  conditions 
favoured  the  production  of  numerous  sparks  under  the 
wheels  of  electric  trams.  I  have  often  noticed  this 
coincidence  between  good  sittings  and  the  abundance 
of  electric  sparks  above-mentioned.  I  believe  that  the 
hygrometrical  state  of  the  atmosphere  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  production  of  these  sparks.  Rain  and  wind 
are,  on  the  contrary,  causes  of  failure. 

The  lighting  of  the  seance-room  is  one  of  the  most 
important  considerations  in  experimentation.  Lamps 
and  candles  have  the  inconvenience  of  taking  some  time 
to  light,  and  they  do  not  allow  of  easy  and  rapid 
modification  in  the  illumination  of  the  room.  Electric 
lighting  is  the  best  system,  because,  disposing  of  several 
lamps,  it  suffices  to  press  a  hand-lever  in  order  to  vary 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  light. 


METHOD  35 

Much  criticism  has  been  passed  on  the  particular  kind 
of  experiments  I  have  undertaken  to  relate  ;  one  of  the 
most  frequently  reiterated  criticisms  is  the  reproach  of 
always  operating  in  obscurity.  Nothing  can  be  more 
inexact.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  1  have  never  con- 
sidered as  convincing  telekinetic  and  parakinetic  experi- 
ments made  in  obscurity.  Those  movements  without 
contact,  which  have  brought  about  my  conviction,  were 
obtained  in  full  light,  and  more  often  in  broad  daylight. 
Of  course,  it  is  evident  that  darkness  is  necessary  for  the 
observation  of  luminous  phenomena.  To  insist  upon 
proving,  in  broad  daylight,  the  reality  of  the  delicate 
phosphorescences  which  it  has  been  given  me  to  observe, 
is  a  glaring  contradiction. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  doubt  that  darkness 
is  particularly  favourable  to  phenomena  of  a  physical 
order.  On  several  occasions  I  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  recognising  this  fact  under  conditions,  which  rendered 
the  hypothesis  of  fraud  extremely  improbable.  For 
example,  I  have  frequently  obtained  raps  in  the  light, 
the  number  and  intensity  of  which  increased  when  the 
light  was  extinguished.  It  is  the  same  with  movements 
of  objects  without  contact  ;  but,  I  repeat,  obscurity  is 
not  necessary. 

In  a  popular  scientific  review  I  once  read  a  criticism 
of  some  experiments  in  which  I  took  part  —  a 
criticism  written  by  a  medical  man  at  Bruxelles,  if 
my  memory  be  correct.  This  doctor,  a  man  of  talent, 
imagined  that  our  conclusions  were  founded  upon  ex- 
periments conducted  solely  in  total  obscurity.  He 
committed  an  involuntary  mistake. 

Psychical  phenomena  can  be  obtained  in  broad  day- 


36  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

light,  and  an  endeavour  should  be  made  to  obtain  them 
in  this  way.  There  has  been  a  general  tendency  to  put 
out  all  lights  in  order  to  procure  more  marked  pheno- 
mena. This  is  a  wrong  way  of  proceeding,  if  one  seeks 
physical  phenomena  such  as  raps  or  movements  without 
contact.  We  must  avoid  working  without  light,  for  the 
habit  of  only  being  able  to  emit  the  nervous  force  in 
obscurity  is  most  easily  acquired  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  to  suppress  acquired  habits.  Eusapia  Paladino 
had  the  habit  of  demanding  the  gradual  extinction  of 
the  light  as  her  trance  deepened.  In  1897  I  was  able  to 
get  through  her  the  same  phenomena,  with  a  certain 
amount  of  light  and  without  the  trance  condition.  I 
still  remember  her  astonishment  at  obtaining,  in  her 
waking  state,  phenomena  which,  until  then,  she  had 
obtained  in  the  second  state  only.  Sleep  and  darkness 
were  the  conditions  this  remarkable  medium  had  become 
accustomed  to,  but  they  were  not  necessary.  My  first 
recommendation,  then,  is  to  operate  with  light,  with  as 
much  light  as  possible.  -— -  "> 

I  repeat,  however,  that  sometimes  the  lessening  of  light 
is  desirable — often  the  medium  demands  it — even  its 
total  extinction  is  sometimes  necessary,  as,  for  example, 
when  sitting  for  luminous  phenomena.  It  is  therefore 
well  to  have  a  series  of  graduated  electric  lights  more 
or  less  shaded.  The  simpler  thing  is  to  have  a  Pigeon 
lamp.  These  petroleum  lamps  do  not  give  much  light, 
but  the  graduation  of  the  light  is  easily  effected  with 
them.  Their  great  advantage  is  this,  when  the  elec- 
tricity is  turned  off,  their  feeble  light — quite  sufficient 
in  certain  cases — is  capable  of  being  gradually  reduced 
until  total  obscurity  is  obtained. 


METHOD  37 

Coloured  lights  are  often  useful :  I  have  not  tried  blue  ; 
yellow,  violet,  and  green  are  good  ;  while  red  fatigues 
the  eyes.  For  certain  series  of  experiments,  I  arranged 
my  light  so  as  to  obtain  white,  yellow,  green,  or  red, 
according  to  wish  :  the  first  three  give  sufficient  illumina- 
tion ;  it  is  not  at  all  the  same  with  red. 

I  strongly  recommend  avoiding  the  concentration  of 
the  luminous  source.  To  avoid  that  inconvenience, 
dull  glass  may  be  used,  or  the  lamps  and  lantern-sides 
may  be  covered  with  transparent  paper — the  quantity 
of  light  is  not  sensibly  diminished,  and  the  sight  is  less 
tried. 

The  quality  of  the  light  employed  did  not  seem  to  me 
to  have  any  very  noticeable  influence  on  the  phenomena, 
yet  I  think  my  best  results  have  been  obtained  in  the 
twilight  hours,  or  in  the  afternoon  between  five  and 
seven  o'clock,  when  the  hard  light  of  day  had  been 
tempered  by  drawing  the  blinds  together.    ^_ ^ 

The  most  important  question  after  that  of  illumination 
is  the  choice  of  apparatus.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  table  is  the  best  thing  to  use.  However,  it  must  not 
be  imagined  this  article  is  an  indispensable  tool.  Move- 
ments without  contact  can  be  obtained  just  as  well  with 
chairs,  baskets,  hats,  pieces  of  wood,  linen,  etc.,  but  a 
table  is  more  convenient. 

I  have  obtained  equally  good  results  with  round  or 
rectangular  tables ;  the  latter  have  perhaps  given  me  the 
finest  experiences.  Eusapia  generally  uses  rectangular 
tables  ;  at  TAgnelas  the  table  we  used  weighed  about  1 3 
kilogrammes,  at  Choisy  6  or  7,  at  Bordeaux  about  7  kg. 
500  grs.  When  sitting  for  raps  or  movements  without 
contact,  I  think  it  is  better  to  use  lighter   tables;    for 


38         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

psychical  force  is  mensurable  :  some  mediums  incapable 
of  moving  a  table  weighing  ten  kilogrammes  may  be  able 
to  obtain  the  levitation  of  a  lighter  one. 

Some  of  my  recent  results  lead  me  to  think,  there  might 
be  an  advantage  in  using  tables  made  with  a  double  top, 
a  space  of  three  or  four  inches  separating  the  two  shelves. 
I  have  not  experimented  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  express 
an  opinion  on  the  advantages  which,  theoretically,  the 
double  top  seems  to  hold  out.  My  impression  is  that 
the  table  acts  something  like  a  condenser,  in  which  case 
the  purpose  of  a  double  top  can  be  understood. 

The  legs  of  the  table  should  be  separated.  One-legged 
tables  should  be  discarded,  and  especially  tripods,  their 
supervision  being  so  very  difficult.  When  the  legs  are 
thin  and  apart,  observation  is  untrammelled. 

The  colour  of  the  table  did  not  seem  to  me  to  exercise 
any  influence  over  the  phenomena.  I  have  been  equally 
successful  with  black,  white,  red,  and  brown  tables. 
They  may  be  polished  or  unpolished.  I  do  not  think  it 
matters  what  kind  of  wood  they  are  made  of,  though 
I  have  obtained  my  finest  raps  with  an  unpolished 
mahogany  table. 

I  have  noticed  there  is  an  advantage  in  covering  the 
table  with  some  white  material  of  light  texture,  which 
should  not  fall  beyond  the  edges  of  the  table  more 
than  one  or  two  inches,  as  it  would  otherwise  interfere 
with  the  experimenters'  reciprocal  supervision.  I  do  not 
know  why  the  presence  of  a  cloth  should  be  favourable 
to  raps  and  movements  ;  at  all  events,  it  makes 
fraudulent  raps  and  communicated  movements  much 
more  difficult. 

It  is  well  to  curtain  oiFone  corner  of  the  room  in  order 


METHOD  39 

to  form  a  cabinet.  If  the  room  be  narrow  enough,  it  is 
more  convenient  to  stretch  the  curtains  at  the  end 
opposite  the  window — an  arrangement  I  adopted  at 
Choisy. 

The  dimensions  of  the  cabinet  ought  not  to  exceed 
3  feet  9  inches  to  4  feet  6  inches  in  width,  2  feet  in  depth, 
and  6  feet  in  height.  I  think  there  is  an  advantage  in 
partially  closing  in  the  top. 

The  curtains  should  be  made  of  some  material  of 
light  thin  texture.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  they  should 
be  of  a  dark  colour  ;  I  have  obtained  just  as  good  results 
with  plain  white  sheets  as  with  dark  curtains. 

When  studying  movement  of  objects  without  contact, 
it  is  useful  to  place  in  the  cabinet  light  articles  which 
produce  a  noise  when  shaken.  The  common  tambourine 
is  very  appropriate  for  this  purpose,  as  are  also  accordions, 
toy-pianos,  harmonicas,  hand-bells,  etc. 

The  experimenters  ought  to  sit  upon  wooden  chairs 
with  cane  seats.  Upholstered  chairs  are  not  to  be 
recommended. 

An  easy-chair  should  be  placed  in  the  cabinet  for 
the  medium,  in  case  he  should  wish  to  sit  there. 
Mediums  often  express  this  wish,  when  in  a  state  of 
'  trance  '  or  somnambulism.  I  give  the  name  of  '  trance  ' 
to  the  sleep  or  torpor  which  is  generally  noticed  in  the 
sensitive,  when  the  phenomena  attain  their  maximum 
intensity.  I  prefer  the  word  *  trance '  to  any  other 
expression,  because  the  condition  of  the  entranced 
medium  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  identical  with  that 
of  the  somnambulist ;  and  for  the  particular  experiments 
with  which  I  am  dealing,  it  is  of  interest  to  use  terms 
which  do  not  lead  to  confusion. 


40         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

It  is  extremely  useful  to  have  a  registering  apparatus, 
which  will  allow  of  making  graphical  descriptions  of 
certain  movements.  Sir  William  Crookes  used  this 
with  success.  I  have  not  had  the  opportunity  of  using 
any ;  for  I  had  no  such  apparatus  at  hand  when  1 
experimented  with  Eusapia  Paladino.  Later  on,  in  a 
series  of  promising  experiments,  the  health  of  the 
medium  with  whom  I  was  operating  obliged  me  to  cease 
work,  before  I  was  able  to  make  use  of  my  registers. 

I  must,  however,  warn  experimenters  against  the 
premature  use  of  any  kind  of  apparatus  whatever.  One 
of  the  most  curious  features  of  psychical  phenomena 
is  their  apparent  independence.  The  phenomena  direct 
us ;  they  do  not  allow  themselves  to  be  easily  led. 
Often  they  seem  to  obey  some  will  other  than  that  of 
the  sitters ;  and  it  is  this  which  forms  the  basis  of 
spiritistic  belief;  but,  though  I  have  not  been  able  to 
grasp  its  laws,  my  impression  is  that  this  spontaneousness 
is  only  apparent. 

Sensitives,  as  a  rule,  exhibit  great  repugnance  to 
mechanical  tests.  This  repugnance  is  one  of  the 
difficulties  which  repel  the  best  predisposed  minds,  and 
quickly  leads  them  to  the  conclusion  of  dishonesty,  an 
unwarranted  conclusion  sometimes.  I  have  come  across 
many  mediums,  who  themselves  offered  me  every  help 
in  their  power  when  devising  test  conditions.  It  is  true 
these  mediums  are  private  individuals  of  position  and 
education,  and  are  extremely  anxious  that  their  psychic 
powers  might  not  be  made  public  in  any  way  ;  for  they 
do  not  wish  to  expose  themselves  to  the  criticism  and 
abuse  which  is  so  lavishly  bestowed  upon  mediums. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  with  ladies. 


METHOD  41 

Certainly,  the  attacks  made  on  Eusapia  Paladino  by 
a  badly  informed  press  and  public  are  not  encouraging 
to  the  more  highly  gifted  mediums.  I  owe  it  to 
Eusapia  to  say  that,  in  my  experiments  with  her,  she 
has  always  submitted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  most 
severe  test  conditions.  If  she  has  sometimes  given  me 
suspicious  phenomena,  she  did  so  only  under  especial 
psychological  conditions.-^ 

Though  I  have  not  employed  any  registering  appar- 
atus, I  have  used  instruments  of  weight  and  measure 
particularly  a  letter-balance — an  article  as  convenient 
as  it  is  easily  employed.  Each  experimenter  can  and 
ought  to  vary  the  conditions  of  experimentation  accord- 
ing to  his  wishes,  within  the  limits  which  frequent 
experimentation  will  very  quickly  give  him.  The 
results  obtained  must  be  definite.  To  be  satisfied  with 
approximate  results  in  such  a  matter  would  be  absolute 
loss  of  time. 

In  concluding  my  remarks  about  the  paraphernalia 
of  the  seance-room,  I  will  give  one  more  recommenda- 
tion which  may  seem  extraordinary,  but  which,  I  have 
reason  to  believe,  is  useful ;  this  is  that  there  should  be 
no  metal  about  the  table  :  it  is  better  to  fasten  it  together 
with  pegs  rather  than  with  nails.  This  is  not  an 
absolute  condition,  however,  for  I  have  obtained  good 
results  with  nailed  tables  ;  yet  my  impression  is  that 
the  absence  of  all  metal  is  an  element  of  success. 
Mediums  are  sometimes  extremely  sensitive  to  metals. 
Certain  sensitives  complain  of  their  rings,  which  seem 
to  make  them  feel  uncomfortable,  giving  them,  at 
times,  a   sensation    of  exaggerated  heat.      This  brings 

1  See  Appendix  B. 


42         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  mind  certain  facts  met  with  from  time  to  time  in 
our  neurotic  cliniques. 


II.    COMPOSITION    OF    THE    CIRCLE 

The  most  important  thing  in  the  organisation  of  a 
series  of  experiments  is  the  choice  of  persons  with  whom 
we  intend  to  operate.  First  of  all,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  without  a  medium  no  phenomena  will  be 
forthcoming.  The  presence  of  some  one,  gifted  with 
the  power  of  producing  psychical  phenomena,  is  perhaps 
the  only  necessary  and  indispensable  condition  of  their 
realisation.  Therefore,  experimentation  ought  only  to 
be  seriously  thought  of  when  in  possession  of  that  rara 
avis. 

What,  then,  is  a  medium.?  By  what  distinguishing 
features  can  he  be  recognised  ?  It  is  very  difficult  to 
answer  these  questions. 

I  will  give  the  name  of  '  medium '  to  any  person 
capable  of  producing  any  of  the  phenomena  previously 
mentioned.  I  adopt  the  word  '  medium,'  because  it  is 
consecrated  by  custom  and  has  received  the  precise 
signification  I  mention.  Some  philosophers  criticise 
this  definition.  Their  criticisms  are,  I  think,  misplaced. 
In  metaphysics  it  is  easy  to  give  definitions  which, 
though  elegant,  are  founded  upon  nothing.  In  physics 
— I  use  this  word  in  its  etymological  and  primitive 
sense — a  being  can  only  be  defined  by  its  properties. 
Definitions  of  this  kind  state  a  fact,  which  is  all  we 
can  require  of  them  ;  they  serve  one  purpose,  which 
is  to  avoid  a  long  periphrase.      Any  other  definition 


METHOD  43 

would  lead  to  the  supposition,  that  the  veritable  know- 
ledge of  the  cause  of  the  phenomena  observed  or  of  the 
properties  recorded,  was  known ;  now,  it  seems  to  me 
impossible  to  affirm  the  real  cause  of  the  facts  I  have 
observed.  I  confine  myself  to  stating  them  without 
forming  any  hypotheses. 

A  medium  is,  therefore,  a  person  in  presence  of 
whom  '  psychical '  phenomena  can  be  observed.  I  use 
this  word  '  psychical '  with  regret,  because  it  implies 
a  hypothesis. 

As  a  rule  it  is  necessary  to  experiment  with  mediums 
in  order  to  discover  them.  Their  gifts  are  often  latent, 
and  only  reveal  themselves  if  conditions  favourable  to 
their  manifestation  are  supplied.  This  is  not  always  the 
case,  and  there  is  generally  a  chance  of  coming  across  a 
medium  when  experimenting  with  persons  in  whose  pre- 
sence certain  irregular  abnormal  noises  are  heard,  certain 
movements  of  furniture  are  spontaneously  produced. 
Such  things  are  far  from  being  as  uncommon  as  one 
would  think.  This  assertion  may  seem  paradoxical,  but 
such  is  not  the  case. 

I  have  met  with  good  mediums  who  were  ignorant  of 
the  existence  of  their  faculties  ;  yet,  when  I  questioned 
them,  I  discovered  that  they  frequently  heard  little 
'raps'  upon  the  wood  of  their  bed  or  upon  their 
night-table,  without  attaching  any  importance  to  it. 
Others  have  often  noticed  the  displacement  of  ordinary 
articles.  Sometimes,  but  more  rarely,  the  facts  ob- 
served are  so  intense  that  the  house  appears  to  be 
haunted.  We  are  often  tempted  to  attribute  to  fraud 
the  phenomena  of  haunting.  I  believe  accounts  of 
this  nature  are  not  all  false,  and  I  shall  perhaps  try 


44         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

and  show  this  in  a  future  work.  We  must  not  reason 
like  one  of  my  friends,  a  man  of  vast  erudition  and 
superior  intelligence,  who  one  day  said  to  me :  'A 
little  girl  from  thirteen  to  sixteen  years  old  is  always 
to  be  found  in  haunted  houses — as  soon  as  the  little 
girl  is  taken  away  the  phenomena  cease ! '  Granted ! 
Things  generally  happen  thus ;  only  the  litde  girl 
may  not  be  the  voluntary  cause  of  the  phenomena : 
she  may  be  the  involuntary  cause  of  them,  a  medium 
in  activity,  producing  supernormal  phenomena  of  the 
nature  of  those  observed  at  spiritistic  seances. 

However,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  very  seldom 
we  have  the  opportunity  of  experimenting  with  these,  so 
to  speak,  ready-made  mediums.  As  a  rule  we  must 
try  on  patiently,  until  the  longed-for  phoenix  has  been 
discovered. 

At  the  same  time,  I  ought  to  point  out  that  the 
chances  of  encountering  a  medium  will  be  greater  if 
we  look  for  him  among  nervous  people.  It  seems  to 
me  that  a  certain  impressionability — or  nervous  in- 
stability— is  a  favourable  condition  for  the  effervescence 
of  medianity.  I  use  the  term  '  nervous  instability '  for 
want  of  a  better,  but  I  do  not  use  it  in  an  ill  sense. 
Hysterical  people  do  not  always  give  clear,  decided 
phenomena  ;  my  best  experiments  have  been  made  with 
those  who  were  not  in  any  way  hysterical. 

Neurasthenics  generally  give  no  result  whatever. 

The  nervous  instability  of  which  I  speak  is,  therefore, 
neither  hysteria,  nor  neurasthenia,  nor  any  nervous 
affection  whatsoever.  It  is  a  state  of  the  nervous 
system  such  as  appears  in  hypertension.  A  lively  im- 
pressionability, a  delicate  susceptibility,  a  certain  unequal- 


METHOD 


45 


ness  of  temper,  establish  analogy  between  mediums  and 
certain  neurotic  patients  ;  but  they  are  to  be  distinguished 
from  the  latter  by  the  integrity  of  their  sensibilities,  of 
their  reflex  movements,  and  of  their  visual  range.  As 
a  rule,  they  have  a  lively  intelligence,  are  susceptible  to 
attention,  and  do  not  lack  energy  ;  their  artistic  senti- 
ments are  relatively  developed  ;  they  are  confiding  and 
unreserved  with  those  who  show  them  sympathy  ;  are 
distrustful  and  irritable  if  not  treated  gently.  They 
pass  easily  from  sadness  to  joy,  and  experience  an 
irresistible  need  of  physical  agitation :  these  two  charac- 
teristics are  just  the  ones  which  made  me  choose  the 
expression  of  nervous  instability. 

I  say  instability,  I  do  not  say  want  of  equilibrium. 
Many  mediums  whom  I  have  known  have  an  extremely 
well-balanced  mind,  from  a  mental  and  nervous  point  of 
view.  My  impression  is  that  their  nervous  system  is 
even  superior  to  that  of  the  average. 

This  will,  no  doubt,  surprise  many  well-informed 
people.  Medical  men  and  psychologists,  ill-disposed, 
as  a  rule,  to  the  study  of  so-called  occult  phenomena, 
have  the  habit  of  looking  upon  all  mediums  as  hysterics. 
It  suffices  to  read  the  works  of  these  savants  to  per- 
ceive they  have  never  been  in  the  presence  of  veritable 
mediums.  M.  Paul  Janet,  for  example — in  U Automatisme 
Psychologique — propounds  general  theories  which  cannot 
be  applied  to  every  case.  It  is  a  pity  such  an  eminent 
thinker  should  not  have  taken  the  trouble  to  make  him- 
self better  acquainted  with  the  facts.  Perhaps  he  has 
acted  like  the  celebrated  Abbot  Vertot.^     According  to 

1  Vertot,  an  historian  of  the  eighteenth  century,  failing  to  receive,  when  he 
was  ready  for  them,  the  documents  upon  which  he  counted  in  order  to  write 


46         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

M.  Janet's  theories,  all  mediums  are  on  the  high  road 
to  psychological  disintegration  :  the  constituent  parts  of 
their  personality  are  dissociated  under  the  influence  of  the 
weakening  of  the  normal,  personal  activity. 

I  am  sure  the  individuals  observed  by  M.  Janet  have 
been  very  carefully  studied  by  him  ;  but  I  regret  that 
my  learned  colleague  has  not  encountered  a  genuine 
medium.  I  share  his  opinion  concerning  most  spiritistic 
mediums ;  I  have  only  found  two  interesting  ones 
among  them  ;  the  hundred  others  which  I  have  ob- 
served have  only  given  me  automatic  phenomena,  more 
or  less  conscious  ;  nearly  all  were  the  puppets  of  their 
imagination.  It  is  outside  spiritistic  circles  that  I  have 
discovered  the  best  mediums. 

M.  Janet's  criticisms  are  only  erroneous  because  they 
are  too  sweeping.  His  conception  of  psychological 
disintegration  is  applicable  to  the  greater  number  of 
cases  ;  but  it  does  not  apply  to  all.  It  is  a  very  difl^erent 
thing  to  study  a  crystal-vision,  or  an  automatic  writing 
revealing  nothing  beyond  the  tenor  of  the  sensitive's 
memory,  or  to  observe  a  premonitory  vision  such  as  has 
been  given  me  to  do.  The  indication  of  a  future  event 
cannot  be  explained  by  Janet's  hypothesis.  It  reveals 
especial  faculties  that  I  can  scarcely  consider  pathological, 
unless  I  consider  them  as  such  in  the  same  way  as  one 
considers  genius  to  be  a  sign  of  degeneration. 

It  is  more  reasonable  to  think  that  our  nervous  sensi- 
bility will  become  more  and  more  refined.     It  is  rash  to 

his  Siege  of  Rhodes,  finished  his  work  for  all  that  j  and  when  the  documents 
were  handed  to  him,  he  contented  himself  with  saying  :  *  I  am  very  sorry,  but  I 
have  finished  my  siege.'  He  preferred  leaving  his  work  imperfect  to  beginning 
it  over  again. 


METHOD  47 

believe  that  the  present  human  type  is  the  definite  end 
of  evolution.  Our  species  is  only  one  link  in  the  series 
of  beings  ;  the  causes,  which  have  led  up  to  the 
improvement  of  the  human  race,  are  still  in  activity,  and 
it  is  logical  to  think  there  are  some  natures  above  as 
well  as  below  the  average.  The  latter  represent 
ancestral  types — a  return  to  cast-off  forms ;  the  former 
are  perhaps  precursors,  possessing  faculties  which  are 
abnormal  to-day,  but  which  may  become  normal 
to-morrow. 

I  must  pause,  for  I  see  I  am  forsaking  the  domain  of 
facts  for  that  of  hypotheses  ;  I  hasten  to  return  thither. 
I  have  pointed  out  the  signs  which  permit  us  to  suppose 
that  a  certain  given  person  is  a  medium  ;  although 
these  signs  are  not  certain,  they  seem  to  me  probable. 
In  reality,  there  is  only  one  sure  way  of  testing  the 
faculties  of  a  medium :  that  is  to  experiment  with 
him. 

It  has  been  observed  that  certain  people  do  not  obtain 
phenomena  when  they  operate  alone,  but  obtain  them, 
on  the  contrary,  when  with  another  person.  I  myself 
have  not  had  occasion  to  remark  this  fact,  but  I  have 
often  noticed  that  the  presence  of  certain  people  favoured 
the  attainment  of  results,  while  the  presence  of  others 
troubled  or  stopped  it.  I  have  no  explanation  to  oiFer 
for  this  fact.  Certainly  credulity  or  incredulity  has  no 
influence  whatever  on  the  results  of  an  experiment.  I 
have  seen  people  who  were  very  little  inclined  to  allow 
themselves  to  be  convinced  make  excellent  auxiliaries. 
At  the  same  time,  I  have  seen  convinced  spiritists  make 
detestable  co-operators. 

It  seems  as  if  the  faculty  of  giving   forth  this  un- 


48         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

known  force  were  unequally  distributed,  that  it  con- 
stitutes a  physical  property  of  the  organism  ;  that,  in 
relation  to  it,  some  persons  will  be  positive  and  others 
negative,  some  will  emit  and  others  absorb  it. 

Hence  the  importance  of  the  choice  of  co-operators — 
of  the  composition  of  the  circle.  The  number  of  experi- 
menters is  comparatively  unimportant ;  in  principle,  the 
more  numerous  the  circle  the  greater  the  force  thrown 
out.  But  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  sitters  is 
a  bad  condition  for  observation ;  it  also  enhances  the 
difficulty  of  the  realisation  of,  what  spiritists  call,  the 
harmony  of  the  circle.  But  I  ought  to  say  that  the 
finest  luminous  phenomena,  which  I  have  seen,  have  been 
obtained  when  there  were  from  fifteen  to  twenty  people 
present.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  experimenting  several  times  alone  with  a  non- 
professional medium,  when  I  succeeded  in  seeing  faces 
which  I  recognised.  Unfortunately,  this  medium — the 
only  one  with  whom  I  have  obtained  this  phenomenon — 
wishes  to  retain  his  incognito. 

I  think  the  most  favourable  number  is  from  four  to 
eight.  I  would  urge  those  who  wish  to  try  to  experi- 
ment to  compose  their  circle,  as  far  as  possible,  of  an 
equal  number  of  each  sex ;  it  is  preferable  to  alternate 
the  masculine  and  feminine  elements.  These  considera- 
tions lead  us  to  the  examination  of  methods  of  operation, 
properly  speaking. 

III.    METHODS    OF    OPERATION 

Before  discussing  in  detail  those  methods  which  appear 
to  me  to  be  the  surest,  I  think  it  well  to  make  a  few 


METHOD 


49 


general  recommendations.  The  first  relates  to  the  state 
of  mind  in  which  it  is  necessary  to  experiment.  If 
interesting  results  are  desired  it  is  not  advisable  to 
laugh,  joke,  or  mock  at  those  practices  —  however 
ridiculous  they  may  seem — with  which  I  advise  com- 
pliance. Act  seriously,  do  not  make  light  of  experi- 
ments, the  exact  import  of  which  we  are  so  ignorant  of. 
I  think  we  should  also  avoid  the  other  extreme,  which 
we  find  in  most  spiritistic  groups,  and  which  impart  to 
these  seances  all  the  solemnity  of  a  religious  service. 

The  foregoing  might  be  considered  a  useless  recom- 
mendation, which  is  not  the  case.  Spiritists,  whose 
experience  in  such  matters  is  not  to  be  disdained,  insist 
on  the  necessity  of  harmony  in  the  circle,  which  is,  they 
say,  an  essential  condition  of  success.  My  personal  ex- 
perience confirms  their  opinion  on  this  point.  I  have 
often  been  present  at  sittings  which  promised  well  in  the 
beginning,  and  became  suddenly  barren  because  of  a 
futile  discussion  between  the  sitters.  The  harmony 
recommended  by  spiritists  is  a  kind  of  equilibrium 
between  the  mental  and  emotional  states  of  the  sitters. 
Elach  sitter  should  be  animated  by  the  same  spirit — I  do 
not  use  this  word  in  its  spiritistic  acceptation — and  seek 
only  the  truth  ;  for  I  take  it  for  granted  they  will  operate 
as  I  have  done.  This  unity  of  views,  this  uniformity  of 
desires,  this  harmony  between  brains  and  hearts  ensures 
the  synergy  of  the  forces  which  each  member  of  the 
circle  develops. 

For  there  is  no  doubt  that  some  kind  of  force  is 
emitted,  and  that  if  the  medium  throws  off  more  than 
the  other  experimenters,  an  equilibrium  between  him 
and  the  other  sitters  is  nevertheless  fairly  quickly  estab- 


so         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

lished.  The  medium  takes  back  from  the  latter  the 
force  he  has  expended.  The  result  is  that  after  a  suc- 
cessful seance,  the  sitters  are  generally  tired.  I  have 
noticed  that  certain  persons  give  out  this  force  more 
readily  than  others,  and  this  perhaps  explains  a  medium's 
preference  for  certain  experimenters  as  neighbours  during 
the  seance.  We  must  not  attribute  this  choice  to  the 
greater  facility , which  some  people  might  oiFer  for  the  execu- 
tion of  fraudulent  phenomena.  I  have  frequently  been 
thus  chosen,  and  I  beg  my  readers  to  believe  that  I  have 
a  horror  of  fraud  and  imposture.  I  am  also  accustomed 
to  experimenting  ;  I  feel  no  emotion  whatever ;  I  keep 
cool  and  observe  with  care.  I  am  well  acquainted  with 
fraudulent  methods,  and  I  take  good  care  not  to  be 
imposed  upon. 

I  repeat,  it  is  a  mistake  to  attribute  to  fraudulent 
intentions  the  preference  shown  by  the  medium  for 
such  or  such  an  experimenter.  In  reality,  it  seems 
as  though  the  medium,  possessing  an  organism  much  more 
sensitive  than  that  of  the  majority,  quickly  recognises 
those  persons  who  the  more  easily  throw  off  the  force 
which  he  requires  to  retrieve  his  losses.  This  more 
rapid  emission  may  be  the  result  of  habit,  or  may  even 
depend  upon  individual  constitution.  Eusapia  quickly 
discerns  people  from  whom  she  can  easily  draw  the 
force  she  needs.  In  the  course  of  my  first  experi- 
ments with  this  medium,  I  found  out  this  vampirism 
to  my  cost.  One  evening,  at  the  close  of  a  sitting  at 
I'Agnelas,  she  was  raised  from  the  floor  and  carried  on 
to  the  table  with  her  chair.  I  was  not  seated  beside 
her,  but,  without  releasing  her  neighbours'  hands,  she 
caught  hold  of  mine  while  the  phenomenon  was  happen- 


METHOD 


51 


ing.  1  had  a  cramp  in  the  stomach — 1  cannot  better 
define  my  sensation — and  was  almost  overcome  by 
exhaustion. 

This,  for  me,  extraordinary  incident  astonished  me 
greatly,  and  since  then  I  have  always  carefully  examined 
my  sensations.  This  examination  has  the  fault  of  being 
purely  subjective,  but  certain  objective  realities  have 
confirmed  it.  A  special  sensation  accompanies  the 
emission  of  this  nervous  force,  and  with  custom  the 
passage  of  the  energy  expended  in  a  seance  can  be  felt, 
just  as  the  interruption  of  its  flow  can  be  discerned.  I 
have  questioned  several  experimenters  about  this,  and 
their  observations  have  often  corroborated  mine. 

Therefore  I  think  I  may  say  that  some  kind  of  force 
is  emitted  by  the  sitters,  which  is  elaborated  by  the 
medium ;  that  the  latter  restores  his  losses  at  the  expense 
of  the  experimenters,  that  certain  people  more  readily 
than  others  furnish  the  medium  with  the  force  he 
requires  ;  and  that  a  certain  sympathy  of  ideas,  views, 
and  sentiments  between  the  experimenters  is  favourable 
to  the  emission  of  this  force. 

I  have  no  decided  opinion  upon  the  nature  and  origin 
of  this  force.  I  think  it  is  kindred  to  the  energy  which 
circulates  in  our  nerves,  and  which  provokes  the  contrac- 
tion of  our  muscles.  Further  on  I  shall  give  the 
reasons  which  lead  me  to  think  so. 

A  second  recommendation,  no  less  important  than  the 
first,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  treat  seriously,  and  note 
carefully  all  communications  given  through  the  table, 
through  automatic  writing  or  raps. 

I  now  arrive  at  the  examination  of  one  of  the  most 
curious    facts    which    so-called    '  psychical '   experiences 


52  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

reveal.  To  a  certain  extent  the  manifesting  force  appears 
to  be  intelligent.  Nothing  permits  me  to  affirm  or 
even  to  think,  that  the  manifestations  are  due  to  an 
entity  distinct  from  that  of  the  sitters.  It  is  not  my 
province  to  discuss  hypotheses :  I  confine  myself  to 
the  relation  of  facts,  and  in  the  course  of  my  recital,  I 
will  point  out  in  detail  the  circumstances,  which  permit 
me  to  signalise  the  apparent  individuality  of  the  mani- 
festing force.  As  in  such  matters  I  have  always  thought 
it  better  to  preserve  an  expectant  attitude,  I  have  always 
been  careful  never  to  slight  the  communications  received 
through  the  phenomena.  I  have  imposed  on  my- 
self the  habit  of  treating  these  manifestations  in  the 
manner  desired  by  them.  Every  time  I  acted  otherwise, 
the  results  were  indifferent. 

Generally,  the  manifestations  are  attributed  to  a 
deceased  person,  known  or  unknown  to  the  sitters. 
This  is  not  absolute,  for  I  have  witnessed  the  table  call 
itself  the  devil,  or  even  pretend  to  be  a  man  still  alive. 
Automatic  writing  has  been  signed  by  a  Mahatma  ;  but, 
as  a  rule,  it  is  the  soul  of  a  deceased  person  who  claims 
to  be  manifesting.  This  usual  attribution  explains 
spiritistic  belief.  I  have  good  reason  for  thinking,  that 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  my 
experiments  ;  but  as,  in  reality,  I  am  ignorant  of  the 
cause  of  the  phenomena  which  I  have  observed,  1  have 
politely  accepted  the  explanation  these  have  given  of 
themselves.  It  is  thus  we  address  those  whom  we  meet 
at  table  d*h6te,  calling  them  by  the  name  they  give  them- 
selves without  concerning  ourselves  as  to  who  they 
really  are. 

Therefore,  whatever  the  changeable  personification  of 


METHOD  53 

the  phenomena  may  be,  my  advice  is  to  accept  it  and  to 
heed  its  observations.  We  must  not  suppose  the  ideas 
expressed  are  due  to  the  operators'  unconscious  move- 
ments ;  that  may  be  true  when  the  communications  are 
obtained  through  automatic  writing,  through  a  table  or 
articles  with  which  the  experimenters  are  in  contact ; 
but  it  is  certainly  not  so  when  they  are  obtained  by 
raps  given  without  any  contact  whatsoever,  as  I  have 
been  able  to  prove  many  and  many  a  time.  As  I  con- 
fine myself  to  indicating  the  results  of  my  personal 
experience,  it  is  perhaps  enough  to  say  once  more  that 
the  methods  1  recommend  seem  good  to  me.  I  have 
always  noticed  the  unhappy  consequences  of  my  refusal 
to  take  into  account  the  spontaneous  advice  of  the 
personification. 

The  most  frequently  given  advice  concerns  the  placing 
of  the  experimenters. 

However,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sitting,  the  experi- 
menters may  seat  themselves  as  they  please.  I  have 
already  said  it  was  generally  necessary  to  place  the 
medium's  chair  against  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet,  and 
to  alternate  the  sexes.  The  experimenters  seated,  the 
experiment  begins.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  choose  a 
manager.  Nothing  is  worse  than  the  absence  of  direc- 
tion. When  every  one  wishes  to  direct  the  proceedings, 
confusion  reigns  in  the  circle,  and  results  are  bad.  I 
have  been  present  at  seances  where  every  one  spoke  at 
the  same  time,  each  one  demanding  a  different  pheno- 
menon. As  a  rule,  on  such  occasions  nothing  was  re- 
ceived. Some  one,  therefore,  ought  to  be  appointed  to 
conduct  the  experiment,  especially  to  converse  with  the 
personification  if  it  express  a  desire  for  conversation. 


54         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

When  the  sitters  wish  to  make  a  report  of  an 
experiment,  it  is  indispensable  to  intrust  one  of  the 
experimenters  with  the  task  of  taking  notes  of  the 
incidents  as  they  occur.  This  experimenter  ought  to 
form  one  of  the  circle. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  circle  can  be  modified 
with  impunity.  My  personal  experience  has  shown  me 
it  is  bad  to  frequently  introduce  strangers  into  the  circle. 
It  should  be  arranged  that  a  series  of  at  least  six  sittings 
will  be  held  without  modifying  the  group  :  that  no  new 
experimenter  will  be  admitted  :  and  that  none  of  the 
original  experimenters  will  miss  even  one  seance.  Then 
if  at  the  end  of  six  sittings  nothing  has  been  obtained, 
my  advice  is  to  change  the  circle,  to  eliminate  certain 
elements,  replacing  them  by  others.  It  is  preferable  to 
change  the  sitters  one  by  one,  and  to  make  a  few 
experiments  with  the  circle  thus  modified  before  making 
further  changes. 

If  interesting  results  be  forthcoming,  and  a  desire  be 
felt  to  show  them  to  other  people,  the  new  sitters  must 
be  introduced  one  by  one,  and,  I  repeat,  at  intervals  of 
three  or  four  sittings.  Otherwise  there  would  be  a  risk 
of  compromising  the  success  of  the  experiments. 

The  personification  sometimes  asks  for  the  addition  to 
the  circle  of  a  certain  person  ;  it  is  then  well  to  invite 
him  to  the  sittings  if  circumstances  allow  of  it. 

I  now  return  to  the  seance  which,  I  suppose,  has 
begun.  The  sitters  put  their  hands  on  the  table  ;  it  is 
not  generally  necessary  to  '  form  the  chain,'  that  is  to 
say,  to  establish  contact  between  the  sitters  by  linking 
the  little  fingers.  The  hands  in  position,  and  the  room 
well  lighted  «/>,  we  wait.     Talking  or  singing  may  be  in- 


METHOD 


55 


dulged  in.  The  emission  of  the  voice,  especially  ryth- 
mical emission,  is  an  excellent  condition :  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  play  some  music,  organ-playing  is  particularly 
effective.  Why  is  the  production  of  sonorous  rythmical 
waves  favourable  to  these  phenomena  ?  I  have  no  ex- 
planation to  offer  for  this  fact,  which  I  am  not  the  only 
one  to  have  observed. 

At  the  end  of  a  few  minutes,  the  table  often  seems  to 
be  agitated.  If  we  are  experimenting  with  spiritists  or 
with  people  accustomed  to  spiritistic  proceedings,  the 
table,  raising  itself,  will  be  seen  to  strike  the  floor  with 
one  of  its  legs.  I  advise  asking  the  table  if  it  wishes  to 
speak,  and  to  arrange  that  two  raps  will  mean  '  no,'  and 
three  raps  '  yes.'  Of  course  any  other  numbers  or  signs 
will  do  equally  well.  The  table,  thus  consulted,  gener- 
ally replies  *  yes.'  It  can  then  be  asked,  if  the  sitters  are 
well  placed :  if  it  indicates  any  other  arrangement  it  is 
well  to  heed  its  advice. 

We  should  then  make  known  to  the  table  what  kind 
of  results  are  desired,  and  point  out,  particularly,  that 
movements  with  contact,  failing  to  carry  conviction,  are 
undesirable.  I  have  already  said  that  the  personification 
— it  is  thus  I  call  the  entity,  whatever  it  may  be,  who 
claims  to  be  manifesting — is  generally  very  open  to  sug- 
gestion ;  and  it  suffices  to  indicate,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  experiment,  the  objection  that  is  made  to  movements 
with  contact  to  be  almost  completely  rid  of  them. 

There  is  no  need  to  point  out  the  object  of  the  above 
suggestion.  From  the  special  point  of  view  of  the 
observation  of  material  facts,  the  movement  of  a  table 
upon  which  the  hand  rests  means  nothing  at  all.  I  look 
upon  these  movements  as  loss  of  time  ;  thev  are  suffi- 


56         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

ciently  explained  by  our  own  unconscious  and  involun- 
tary muscular  contractions.  The  phenomenon  is  only 
worthy  of  a  serious  man's  attention  when  it  is  produced 
without  contact,  or  without  sufficient  contact ;  as,  for 
example,  when  the  table  is  completely  raised  from  the 
ground,  the  sitters'  hands  resting  on  top  of  the  table  all 
the  time.  It  is  better  not  to  experiment  than  to  lose 
one's  time  in  observing  movements  with  contact,  unless, 
of  course,  we  are  seeking  to  analyse  the  tenor  of  typto- 
logical  messages. 

I  strongly  recommend  most  carefully  avoiding  the 
production  of  automatic  movements.  I  have  excellent 
reasons  for  believing,  that  the  agent  which  produces  tele- 
kinetic  phenomena  only  realises  them,  if  it  has  accumu- 
lated sufficient  force  to  have  acquired  a  certain  given 
tension.  1  have  already  pointed  out  the  close  connection 
— identity  perhaps — between  this  agent  and  that  which 
causes  our  muscles  to  contract ;  further  on  I  shall  in- 
dicate experiences  which  give  weight  to  this  impression  ; 
at  present  it  suffices  to  mention  it,  to  understand 
why  I  so  earnestly  recommend  sitters  to  avoid  yielding 
to  more  or  less  subconscious  movements  from  the 
very  outset.  If,  as  I  think,  the  energy  which  our 
nervous  system  elaborates  is  closely  connected  with  that 
energy,  whose  effects  are  seen  in  telekinetic  pheno- 
mena, it  is  probable  that  it  will  only  produce  these 
curious  effects,  in  proportion  as  it  is  able  to  acquire  a 
sufficient  tension  for  its  emission.  My  knowledge  of 
physics  is  too  rudimentary  to  allow  me  to  draw  precise 
comparisons  between  this  force  and  electricity.  Never- 
theless, it  has  seemed  to  me  to  present  some  analogies 
with    electricity,    although    the    two    are    certainly    not 


METHOD  57 

identical ;  but  the  analogies  are,  perhaps,  sufficient  to 
enable  me  by  a  comparison  to  make  my  meaning  clearer. 

An  electrical  conductor,  charged  with  a  given  amount 
of  electricity,  will  have  an  electrical  density  of  o-  ;  if  the 
amount  increases,  this  density  will  be  o-',  and  we  will 
have  ar'xT  \  the  tension  in  the  first  case  will  be 
T  =  27rcr^,  in  the  second  T'  =  2770-'^ ;  T'  will  be  greater 
than  T. 

The  conductor  will  remain  charged,  as  long  as  the 
tension  does  not  exceed  the  resistance  which  the  sur- 
roundings offer  to  the  emission  of  electricity  ;  as  soon 
as  this  resistance  becomes  inferior  to  the  tension,  there 
will  be  emission  of  electricity. 

In  the  case  of  a  medium,  the  charge  of  energy  in- 
creases with  time  and  relative  immobility.  If  by  making 
unconscious  or  voluntary  movements,  experimenters  do 
not  allow  this  energy  to  accumulate,  it  will  never  reach 
the  tension  necessary  for  exteriorisation.  There  are,  how- 
ever, some  reservations  to  be  made  ;  for  I  have  noticed, 
that  when  the  tension  is  sufficient,  simulated  or  executed 
movements  determine  the  production  of  the  motor 
phenomenon — just  as  if  the  execution  of  the  movement 
appeared  to  liberate  a  quantity  of  energy  superior  to 
that  which  was  utilised  by  the  working  of  the  muscle  ; 
the  excess  of  force  was  then  apparently  employed  in  the 
realisation  of  the  telekinetic  movement. 

I  have  noticed  that,  every  time  we  allow  voluntary  or 
involuntary  movements,  telekinetic  movements  are  diffi- 
cult to  obtain.  One  would  think,  that  the  energy  which 
determines  them  can  only  accomplish  them  when  it 
cannot  find  a  normal  outlet ;  it  has  a  tendency  to  expend 
itself  normally  in    ordinary  muscular  movements  :    this 


58  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

tendency  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  involun- 
tary fraud,  and  the  habitual  occasion  of  voluntary  fraud. 
We  must  see  that  this  tendency  be  checked  :  this  may 
call  for  some  eifort  of  attention  at  the  beginning,  but 
*  habit  is  second  nature/ 

Things  being  thus  regulated,  we  wait.  A  first  seance 
is  generally  without  apparent  result,  unless  one  has  the 
good  luck  to  meet  with  a  medium  straight  away — which 
is  not  always  the  case.  Those  who  seriously  wish  to 
understand  these  facts  must  have  a  great  fund  of  in- 
defatigable patience.  I  can  guarantee  them  success 
sooner  or  later,  but  I  cannot  tell  how  many  barren 
experiments  may  be  made  before  that  success  comes. 
They  must  not  grow  weary  ;  let  them  progressively 
modify  the  composition  of  the  circle  until  the  necessary 
element  be  met  with.  They  will  then  be  rewarded  for 
their  trouble.  I  strongly  advise  them  to  avoid  profes- 
sional mediums.  Some  of  them  are  sincere,  and  I  think 
that  Eusapia  Paladino  is  of  that  number.  It  is  true  that 
sometimes  she  produces  suspicious  phenomena,  but  it  is 
puerile  to  conclude  therefrom  that  she  constantly  cheats. 
The  suspicious  cases  I  have  observed  with  Eusapia  are 
interesting,  if  studied  impartially.  They  show  the  role 
which  the  subliminal  conscience — impersonal  or  bound  to 
a  second  personality — plays  in  the  phenomena,  and  give 
rise  to  attractive  psychological  problems. 

Spiritistic  mediums,  whose  number  is  legion,  form 
another  category  with  whom  we  should  not  experiment, 
except  for  purposes  of  especial  research.  Some  of  these 
mediums  are  trustworthy,  and  one  of  them,  Madame 
Agullana  of  Bordeaux,  has  sometimes  given  me  interest- 
ing sittings.     The  phenomena  I  have  observed  with  this 


METHOD  59 

medium  differ  greatly  from  Eusapia's  ;  they  are  of  an 
intellectual  order,  and  raise  a  very  complicated  problem. 
Madame  AguUana's  medianity  must  not  be  judged  from 
seances  with  her  groups.  These  seances  have  the  religious 
character  of  nearly  all  truly  spiritistic  meetings.  It  is 
difficult  there  for  an  experimenter  to  observe  at  his  ease ; 
the  curiosity  of  those  who  seek  only  the  objective 
demonstration  of  a  fact  may  appear  impertinent  and 
out  of  place  at  such  meetings.  The  faithful  have  a  right 
to  look  upon  such  people  as  intruders.  Convinced  of  the 
truth  of  their  doctrines,  they  ill  brook  the  open  discussion 
of  them  at  meetings,  where  discussion  is  not  wanted. 
They  prefer  the  discourses  of  an  entranced  medium  to 
the  needless  interference  of  the  profane.  Their  meetings, 
nearly  always  consecrated  to  the  acquiring  of  communi- 
cations, have  the  serious  defect  of  developing  unconscious 
automatism  in  their  medium.  For  me  this  is  a  conclu- 
sive reason. 

Madame  Agullana,  at  some  seances  where  only  a  few 
experimentalists  took  part,  gave  proof  of  the  possession 
of  certain  supernormal  faculties,  which  I  have  not  observed 
in  the  same  degree  of  intensity  at  the  usual  sittings  of  her 
group.  This  medium  is  also  entirely  reliable,  and  of 
praiseworthy  disinterestedness.  She  never  receives  any 
remuneration — an  important  consideration — for,  mediums 
who  take  fees  are  more  open  to  suspicion. 

My  most  convincing  results  have  been  obtained  with 
persons  unacquainted  with  spiritism  and  ignorant  of  its 
practices.  Once  I  discovered  a  medium  most  unex- 
pectedly. He  sat  down  with  me  at  a  table,  invited  to 
experiment  for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  He  had  scarcely 
seated  himself  when  violent  knockings  resounded  on  the 


6o         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

floor  ;  this  person,  honourable,  well-educated  and  intelli- 
gent, is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  sensitives  I  have  met 
with.  But  as  he  fears  ridicule,  has  no  desire  to  be 
scoffed  at  in  newspapers,  and,  moreover,  dreads  publicity 
of  any  kind,  he  does  not  wish  his  name  to  be  mentioned. 
These  are  the  results  of  the  malevolent  criticisms  heaped 
upon  experiments  of  this  nature. 

I  am  sure  the  number  of  mediums  is  much  more  con- 
siderable than  we  think  ;  in  a  circle  of  from  eight  to  ten 
people  chosen  under  the  condition  I  have  mentioned,  it  is 
seldom  we  do  not  find  a  medium. 

Of  whatever  sex,  to  whatever  social  status  he  may 
belong,  the  medium  is  a  sensitive.  This  must  never  be 
forgotten  ;  and  we  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that 
the  phenomena  will  be  clearer  and  better  in  proportion 
as  the  medium's  confidence  and  sympathy  are  won. 

This  statement  will  not  surprise  those  who  are  familiar 
with  hypnotic  experimentation,  for  they  know  how  easy 
it  is  to  induce  sleep  in  a  person  who  lets  himself  go, 
and,  on  the  contrary,  how  difficult  it  is  in  one  who  resists 
or  who  mistrusts  the  operator.  I  am  persuaded  that 
the  impersonal  strata  of  the  consciousness  play  a  role  in 
psychical  phenomena  similar  to  what  they  play  in  the 
phenomena  of  hypnotism. 

Therefore,  I  insist  on  the  necessity  for  due  regard 
being  paid  to  the  medium.  I.  have  had  much  practice, 
and  in  all  mediums  I  have  met  with  extreme  sensitiveness. 
Those  who  have  come  under  the  refining  influences  of 
education,  instruction,  or  rank,  are  the  most  sensitive — 
*  touchy '  ;  but  this  sensitiveness  ought  not  to  be  inter- 
preted as  a  sign  of  degeneracy.  Certain  contemporary 
savants  consider  every  deviation  from  the  normal  state 


METHOD  6 1 

as  a  blemish  !  Such  a  way  of  thinking  implies  a  veritable 
a  priori  judgment,  a  begging  of  the  question,  which  is 
detrimental  to  the  true  development  of  scientific  thought. 
The  normal  man  is  only  a  mean  term  ;  there  are 
individuals  who  are  inferior  to  the  mean,  there  are 
others  who  are  superior  to  it.  Nature  knows  not 
equality.  She  offers  us,  everywhere,  inequalities,  dis- 
crepancies, diversities.  It  is  the  illusory  unity  of  our 
own  personality,  which  leads  us  to  unify  and  to  codify 
natural  phenomena  and  even  humanity  itself.  It  is  one 
of  the  conditions  of  the  organisation  of  our  Sciences, 
that  they  become  intelligible  only  on  condition  of 
adapting  themselves  to  our  particular  form  of  under- 
standing. Nothing  authorises  our  supposing  that  this 
form  of  understanding  has  any  metaphysical  reality  ;  it 
may  only  be  a  subjective  condition  of  our  perception. 

It  is  by  an  analogous  mental  process,  that  we  give 
reality  to  the  intellectual  or  physical  type  of  the  average 
man.  Degeneracy,  which  is  often  a  sliding  backwards, 
a  relapse  into  inferior  types,  is  a  negative  deviation  from 
the  average  man  :  genius  is  a  positive  variation.  In 
the  same  way,  the  nervous  system  of  the  imaginary 
average  man  is  but  an  abstraction ;  in  reality,  the 
sensibility  of  the  nervous  system  of  the  different  human 
individualities  varies  immensely.  A  negative  variation 
will  give  beings  who  are  less  sensitive,  less  delicate 
than  those  of  the  average  type  ;  a  variation  in  the 
positive  sense  will  give  individuals  of  a  more  sensitive 
and  more  delicate  type.  To  consider  either  as  abnormal 
is  only  grammatically  true :  the  former  are  infra-v\orra2X^ 
the  latter  are  supra-normd,!.  The  first  have  not  reached 
the  average  level,  the  second  have  passed  it. 


62  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Therefore,  it  is  not  astonishing  that  a  more  refined 
sensitivity  of  the  nervous  system  should  have  a  corre- 
spondingly greater  emotivity  :  *  touchiness '  in  itself  is  a 
function  of  emotivity.  This  seems  to  me  to  explain  a 
fact  which  appears  certain-^that  the  feelings  of  mediums 
are  very  easily  hurt.  A  discontented,  irritated  medium 
is  a  bad  instrument — as  I  have  had  occasion  to  prove 
with  Eusapia  and  many  other  mediums. 

I  have  always  noticed  that  discontent  and  moral 
discomfort,  as  well  as  fatigue  and  physical  discomfort  in 
the  medium  brought  about  failure. 

The  advice  I  give  is  important  to  follow.  Win  the 
confidence  and  sympathy  of  the  medium  by  your  own 
sympathy,  your  own  deference,  your  own  loyalty.  If 
you  detect  fraud,  which  seems  voluntary  to  you,  do 
not  hesitate — after  the  sitting  and  at  the  first  favourable 
opportunity — to  tell  him  frankly  your  doubts  and  your 
impression.  If  you  perceive  an  involuntary  fraud,  put 
the  medium  on  guard  against  himself,  always  act  toward 
him  with  sincerity,  but  at  the  same  time  with  kindness 
and  courtesy. 

As  already  pointed  out,  fatigue  and  physical  dis- 
comfort produce  the  same  effects  as  moral  discomfort. 
It  is  unwise  therefore  to  experiment  with  a  sick 
medium.  The  results  would  be  bad  from  an  experi- 
mental standpoint,  and  the  medium's  health  would 
suffer.  Carefully  avoid  experimenting  too  frequently 
with  the  medium.  Even  three  sittings  a  week  are 
really  more  than  is  desirable.  We  may  experiment 
three  times  a  week  when  operating  with  a  medium  in 
good  form,  and  when  the  experiments  are  not  likely 
to  last  for  more  than  two  or  three  weeks.     It  would 


METHOD  63 

be  bad  to  experiment  so  often  or  for  a  longer  period 
with  a  young  sensitive.  Two  sittings  a  week  seem  the 
safest  number  to  me  ;  while  only  one  ought  to  be  made 
if  the  medium  follows  a  trying  profession. 

I  have  seen  mediums  become  ill  through  experi- 
menting too  often.  The  abuse  of  experimentation 
rapidly  brings  on  nervous  breakdown,  and  may  cause 
serious  disorders,  of  which  neurasthenia  is  the  most 
frequent  and  the  least  serious.  Therefore  I  have  made 
it  an  invariable  rule  to  experiment  with  non- 
professional mediums,  only  on  condition  that  they  bind 
themselves  to  experiment  with  no  other  than  my  own 
circle  as  long  as  our  series  of  experiments  lasts.  I  am 
as  persuaded  of  the  absolute  innocuousness  of  experi- 
ments prudently  conducted,  as  I  am  positive  of  the 
dangers  of  experimentation  when  frequent,  prolonged, 
or  conducted  by  incompetent  persons.  I  have  no  fear 
of  assuming  the  responsibility  of  the  first,  but  for  no 
consideration  whatever  would  I  endorse,  even  indirectly, 
the  second,  and  I  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  the 
same  prudence  to  other  experimenters. 

A  last  recommendation  remains  to  be  made  ;  experi- 
mentation with  persons  of  doubtful  morality  must  be 
avoided.  I  have  no  need  to  enlarge  upon  the  many 
inconveniences  to  which  such  an  imprudent  collaboration 
may  expose  experimenters. 

To  sum  up  the  indications  I  have  just  given  in 
perhaps  too  complete  a  fashion,  I  will  briefly  recall  to 
mind  the  conditions  which  have  seemed  the  best  to  me  : 
sufficient  light  first  of  all — the  personification  must  not 
acquire  the  habit  of  operating  in  darkness,  for  the  brighter 
the  light,  the  more  convincing  the  experiment ;  a  small 


64         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

room  ;  a  light  table  with  four  legs,  put  together  with 
wooden  pegs  rather  than  with  nails  ;  a  cabinet  of  soft 
thin  curtains ;  the  experimenters  not  to  exceed  as  a 
rule  eight  in  number  ;  the  experimenters  to  agree  to 
experiment  seriously,  without  turning  into  ridicule  the 
practices  to  which  they  submit  themselves.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  allow  only  one  of  their  circle  to  direct 
the  seance,  to  converse  with  the  personification,  to 
control  the  proceedings.  They  must  try  and  keep 
up  a  spirit  of  good  understanding,  and  refrain  from 
reciprocally  accusing  each  other  of  pushing  the  table — 
novices  do  this  regularly.  Discussion  should  be  rele- 
gated to  the  end,  and  should  never  be  provoked  during 
the  sitting.  Finally,  they  should  pay  great  attention  to 
the  susceptibility  of  the  medium — whoever  he  may  be. 

The  greatest  patience  will  be  required  ;  the  circle 
should  be  modified  with  prudence,  and  only  after  a 
certain  number  of  sterile  experiments. 


THE    PERSONIFICATION 

I  think  it  will  be  useful  to  indicate  what  has  seemed 
to  me  the  best  way  of  treating  the  personification — for 
this  point  is  important. 

I  give  the  name  of  *  personification  '  to  the  manifesting 
intelligence,  whatever  this  may  be.  As  previously 
indicated,  this  intelligence,  as  a  rule,  claims  to  be 
the  soul  of  a  deceased  person.  This  is  not  absolute, 
and  the  phenomena  may  personify  God,  the  devil, 
angels,  legendary  personages,  fairies,  etc.  I  need 
not  say  how  far  I  am  from  believing  in  the  reaHty 
of  the  being  thus  manifesting,  and  I  have,  as  I  believe, 


V.    ^^  ^^ 


METHOD  65 

excellent  reasons  for  doubting.  I  have  noticed  that  the 
role  played  by  the  personification  varies  with  the 
composition  of  the  circle.  It  will  always  be  the  spirit  of 
a  dead  or  living  person  with  spiritists.  But  the  roles  are 
more  varied  if  the  circle  be  composed  of  people  who  are 
not  spiritists  ;  it  then  sometimes  happens  that  the  com- 
munications claim  to  emanate  from  the  sitters  themselves. 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  this  is  the  real  origin  of  the 
communications,  and  that  a  sort  of  collective  conscious- 
ness is  formed.  I  give  my  impression  with  the  greatest 
reserve,  for,  I  repeat,  I  have  no  decided  opinion  upon  the 
subject ;  but  the  experiments  I  have  made  leave  me  that 
impression,  in  a  general  way.  This  forms  part  of  an 
— as  yet — undeciphered  chapter  on  the  psychology  of 
crowds.  I  confess  I  have  no  explanation  to  give  of  the 
action  which  such  a  collective  consciousness  appears  to 
have  upon  matter  ;  but  this  difficulty  seems  to  me  less 
insurmountable  than  those  attending  the  spirit  hypothesis. 
If  we  attribute  the  phenomena  to  a  being  distinct  from 
ourselves,  having  a  will-power  so  much  the  more  marked 
because  it  emanates  from  a  spiritual  being  more  enlight- 
ened than  ourselves,  I  cannot  understand  the  suggesti- 
bihty  of  such  a  being.  Now,  I  believe  the  personification 
is,  as  a  rule,  extremely  suggestible.  I  say  *  as  a  rule,*  for 
there  are  occasions  when  it  gives  proof  of  remarkable 
obstinacy  :  this  is  the  exception,  and  I  ought  to  say 
that  when  the  personification  shows  a  decided  will  of  its 
own,  there  is  no  struggling  against  it.  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  follow  the  directions  it  gives,  for,  in  such 
cases,  there  is  a  very  good  chance  of  obtaining  happy 
results,  while  certainly  nothing  will  be  obtained  by 
spurning  those  directions. 

£ 


66         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

There  are  very  few  people  among  those  unaccustomed 
to  this  kind  of  experimentation,  who  have  the  courage 
to  treat  the  personification  as  it  desires  to  be  treated  : 
this  is  a  mistake.  We  must  take  a  practical  view  of  the 
proceedings  ;  we  must  lay  aside  all  pride  and  vanity.  I 
am  as  well  aware  as  any  one  of  the  comical  aspect  of  a 
conversation  between  a  grave  experimenter  and  a  being 
non-existent,  and  I  had  much  difficulty  in  conquering 
the  repugnance  with  which  this  manner  of  proceeding 
inspired  me.  I  saw  therein  a  kind  of  jugglery  unworthy 
of  a  cultured  intellect.  Experience  has  clearly  shown 
me  I  was  wrong,  without,  however,  demonstrating  the 
reality  of  the  being  personified.  Every  time  I  looked 
upon  the  personification  as  something  not  to  be  reckoned 
with,  I  have  had  bad  or  indifferent  sittings. 

This  does  not  mean,  that  the  results  have  always  been 
in  proportion  to  the  attention  I  have  paid  the  personifi- 
cation. Far  from  it !  The  personification  is  generally 
lavish  of  promises — excellent  things  in  their  way,  but  it 
would  be  extremely  naive  to  put  absolute  faith  in  what 
it  says :  we  must  trust  only  in  ourselves.  I  do  not  know 
if  Socrates'  demon  ever  played  him  false :  those  of  his 
species  whom  I  have  interviewed  struck  me  as  being  of 
doubtful  sincerity.  It  would  be  impossible  to  commit  a 
greater  imprudence  than  to  put  practical  faith  in  the 
advice  of  the  personification,  however  good  it  may  seem 
to  have  always  been. 

My  personal  observations  have  generally  brought  me 
into  connection  with  personifications  possessing  more 
imagination  and  good-will  than  respect  for  the  truth. 
They  have  promised  me  marvellous  demonstrations, 
which  I  am  still  expecting,  particularly  complete  materi- 


METHOD  67 

alisations.  Perhaps  I  am  too  hard  to  please,  and  ought 
to  consider  myself  lucky  to  have  seen  what  I  have  seen. 
But  we  are  never  content  with  our  lot,  and  Horace's 
time-honoured  words  are  as  true  to-day  as  ever  they 
were.^ 

If  I  strongly  recommend  people  not  to  abandon  the 
conduct  of  their  life  or  business  affairs  to  the  personifica- 
tion, I  recommend  just  as  strongly  treating  the  latter 
with  the  greatest  possible  attention.  We  can  only  form 
hypotheses  about  its  essence  ;  and  the  scepticism  which 
my  observations,  taken  as  a  whole,  have  instilled  into 
me,  may  be  ill-founded  ;  therefore  it  is  better  to  treat  it 
with  the  same  courtesy  we  show  our  fellow-experimenters. 
This  attitude  is  prudent ;  it  is  also  the  most  profitable 
one.  In  practice,  I  have  the  same  regard  for  the  personi- 
fication as  for  the  medium.  I  do  not  call  it  '  dear  spirit ' 
as  spiritists  do,  but  I  find  I  do  well  to  make  it  clearly 
understand  what  I  am  seeking ;  whatever  in  reality  the 
personification  may  be,  its  co-operation  seems  to  me  to 
be  indispensable.  The  resemblance  between  the  reaction 
of  the  personification  and  that  of  the  subliminal  con- 
sciousness is  so  obvious,  that  I  have  no  need  to  enlarge 
upon  it. 

In  practice,  the  first  manifestation  of  this — probably 
fictitious — being  will  consist  in  a  knocking  on  the  floor 
with  the  leg  of  the  table.  It  is  well  to  agree  upon  a 
code  of  signals.  The  simplest  is  two  raps  for  *  no,' 
three  for  '  yes,'  five  for  the  alphabet. 

At  the  beginning,  it  will  be  difficult  to  avoid  these 

1  Qui  fit,  Maecenas,  ut  nemo,  quam  sibi  sortem 
Seu  ratio  dederit,  seu  fors  objecerit,  ilia 
Contentus  vivat,  laudet  diversa  sequentes  ? 

Satyr,  i.  lib.  i.  i. 


68  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

knockings.  I  have  already  said  it  is  desirable  to  dis- 
courage them  and  to  induce  the  personification  to  mani- 
fest itself  otherwise.  It  would  be  well  to  accept  the 
typtological  code  of  signals  above  mentioned  for  the 
first  conversations,  but  to  abandon  it  as  soon  as  it  has 
been  clearly  explained  to  the  personification,  that  move- 
ments with  contact  are  unacceptable.  I  am,  of  course, 
speaking  under  the  supposition  that  telekinetic  or  para- 
kinetic  movements  are  desired.  If  the  personification, 
at  the  end  of  five  or  six  seances  of  an  hour  each,  does 
not  begin  to  produce  the  desired  phenomena,  the  circle 
must  be  modified  in  the  manner  already  pointed  out. 
These  modifications  ought  to  be  patiently  continued, 
until  a  medium  has  been  met  with.  The  personification 
might  be  asked  to  name  the  sitter  who  is  to  be  replaced, 
and,  if  possible,  to  designate  his  substitute.  Such  a 
designation  is  often  very  useful.  Once  or  twice  I  have 
seen  the  table  name  persons  whom,  at  the  moment  of 
the  experiment,  no  one  in  our  midst  had  thought  of — at 
least  consciously.  Various  reasons  prevented  the  given 
indications  from  being  followed,  and  the  experiments 
were  discontinued. 

Movements  with  contact  can  be  eliminated  by  the 
process  I  have  mentioned  ;  their  elimination,  made  with 
the  consent  of  the  personification,  presents  no  incon- 
venience, unless  it  be  done  too  abruptly. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  personification  is  gener- 
ally very  open  to  suggestion.  We  must  remember  that 
this  is  a  special  kind  of  suggestibility.  In  hypnotism  a 
commanding  tone  of  voice  gives  greater  force  to  the 
suggestion  ;  it  is  not  the  same  with  the  personification 
in  question,  which  shows  itself  rebellious  to  all  imperative 


METHOD  69 

orders.  On  the  contrary,  it  readily  yields  to  suggestions 
made  with  gentleness  and  persistence.  As  a  rule,  I  give 
the  object  I  have  in  view,  and  my  reasons  for  setting 
aside  all  phenomena  which  can  be  explained  by  uncon- 
scious muscular  action.  I  repeat,  I  treat  the  personifica- 
tion as  a  co-experimenter.  It  is  seldom  that,  thus 
exhorted,  it  does  not  willingly  consent  to  abstain  from 
phenomena  devoid  of  interest,  and  promise  more  demon- 
strative ones.  I  have  already  said  too  much  faith  must 
not  be  put  in  such  promises  ;  at  least  nine  out  of  ten 
experiments  will  come  to  nothing,  and  will  have  to  be 
worked  out  again  on  fresh  lines. 

But  the  experimenter's  patience  will  not  always  be 
tried  in  vain.  Sooner  or  later  he  will  meet  with  the 
indispensable  medium  ;  and  his  observations  will  then 
be  similar  to  mine. 

The  first  supernormal  phenomena  are  raps  and  oscil- 
lations without  contact.  Sometimes  the  phenomenon, 
from  the  very  outset,  will  manifest  itself  with  intensity ; 
this  is  the  exception  ;  generally  the  noises  and  move- 
ments, feeble  in  the  beginning,  will  grow  in  intensity. 
As  soon  as  raps  without  contact  have  been  obtained, 
certain  signals  must  be  agreed  upon.  The  simplest  way, 
then,  is  to  adopt  the  typtological  code  of  signals,  i.e.  two 
raps  for  *  no,'  three  for  '  yes,'  five  for  the  alphabet.  The 
phenomena  then  become  very  interesting,  for  when  the 
raps  are  given  without  contact,  the  hypothesis  of  in- 
voluntary movements  becomes  insufficient  to  explain 
them. 

I  have  recently  received  very  intelligent  communica- 
tions in  this  way.  We  must  not  grow  tired  of  having 
the  words  repeated.     It  often  happens  that  letters  are 


70         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

left  out,  or  that  one  letter  is  given  instead  of  another. 
This  happens  particularly  with  neighbouring  letters.  In 
carefully  noting  down  the  letters  a  very  clear  sense  will 
often  be  found.  For  example,  the  raps  will  give 
Martjn  for  Martin,  Heoriette  for  Henriette,  etc. 
We  must  not  give  up  as  soon  as  the  word  seems  to 
become  unintelligible.  Wait  until  the  sentence  is 
finished,  when  it  will  sometimes  suddenly  clear  itself. 
It  sometimes  happens  that  the  letters  are  dictated  back- 
wards. When  the  sentence  is  incomprehensible,  we 
must  begin  all  over  again.  Even  in  experiments  whose 
aim  is  to  obtain  material  phenomena,  we  must  not 
refuse  to  listen  to  demands  for  the  alphabet,  for  the 
personification  will  then  often  advise  on  the  manner  of 
operating. 

Very  often  the  personification  complains  of  too  much 
light,  and  during  several  sittings  insists  upon  darkness. 
We  must  politely  resist  it,  and  make  it  understand  that 
psychical  phenomena  lose  much  of  their  value,  as  soon  as 
they  cease  to  be  visible.  I  never  hesitate  telling  the 
personification,  that  experiments  of  this  kind  are  not 
convincing  when  conducted  in  obscurity,  since  the  good 
faith  of  the  operators  is  then  open  to  suspicion,  and, 
moreover,  that  phenomena  can  be  obtained  in  full  light. 
These  reasons  often  prevail  on  the  personification  not  to 
persist  in  asking  for  darkness. 

In  some  cases,  it  is  the  personification  itself  who 
refuses  to  operate  in  darkness.  It  is  with  personifica- 
tions of  this  class  that  I  have  obtained  the  finest  results. 

When  the  pseudo-entity  asks  one  or  other  of  the 
experimenters  to  leave  the  circle,  it  is  prudent  to  yield 
obedience  to  its  behest,  unless,  for  various  reasons,  the 


METHOD  71 

required  elimination  be  unacceptable.  In  that  case,  it  is 
as  well  to  explain  these  reasons  to  the  personification, 
and  then  it  rarely  happens  they  are  not  accepted. 

Such  are  the  general  rules  which  a  fairly  long  experi- 
ence has  caused  me  to  adopt,  and  I  have  always  had 
reason  to  be  glad  of  having  followed  them.  In  experi- 
ments conducted  by  me,  I  have  never  received  obscene 
or  absurd  communications  of  which  certain  people  com- 
plain. Reflecting,  perhaps,  my  own  state  of  mind,  I 
have  generally  encountered  personifications  with  scien- 
tific and  serious  tendencies. 

I  have  just  exposed*"  in  detail,  and  perhaps  too 
minutely,  the  conclusions  arrived  at  concerning  the 
method  of  operation.  I  now  come  to  the  indication 
of  the  results  which  I  have  obtained,  and  the  ascertain- 
ments I  have  been  able  to  make. 

I  will  examine  in  succession  raps,  movements  without 
contact,  luminous  phenomena,  and  finally,  intellectual 
phenomena. 


72  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


CHAPTER    H 
RAPS 

I  WILL  not  stop  to  consider  movements  with  contact. 
From  a  physical  point  of  view  they  have  no  serious 
signification  whatever.  They  are  so  easily  explained  by 
the  combined,  unconscious,  muscular  movements  of  the 
experimenters,  that  it  is  really  not  worth  while  stopping 
to  examine  them.  The  messages  obtained  by  their 
intermedium  may  present  an  internal  or  clinical  interest, 
but  in  that  case  they  belong  to  the  category  of  in- 
tellectual phenomena,  properly  so-called. 

The  first  physical  phenomena,  which  deserves  attention, 
is  that  of  *  raps.'  It  is  generally  the  one  most  frequently 
obtained.  We  must,  however,  point  out  that  the 
faculties  of  mediums  are  not  identical :  some  produce 
chiefly  physical,  others  chiefly  intellectual  phenomena. 
The  former  also  manifest  diverse  qualities :  some  of 
them  obtain  raps,  others  movements,  others  luminous 
phenomena.  Still  in  a  general  way  *  raps '  have  seemed 
to  me  to  be  one  of  the  simplest  phenomena  of  a  material 
order. 

If  we  work  with  a  physical  medium  of  even  only 
average  force,  raps  will  be  heard  after  the  third  or  fourth 
seance.  They  will  be  heard  much  sooner  if  we  have  a 
powerful  medium. 


RAPS  73 

As  a  rule,  raps  seem  to  resound  on  the  top  of  the 
table  ;  but  it  is  not  always  so.  They  are  frequently 
heard  on  the  ground,  on  the  sitters,  or  on  the  furni- 
ture, walls,  or  ceiling.  The  raps  I  have  heard — of 
course  I  am  speaking  only  of  genuine  raps — have  re- 
sounded near  the  medium,  as  a  rule,  either  on  the 
table,  floor,  walls,  or  furniture  in  close  proximity  to 
him. 

The  simplest  way  to  obtain  raps  is  to  proceed  as 
I  have  directed  in  section  ii.  chapter  i.  The  experi- 
menters, seated  around  a  table,  lay  their  hands  upon  it 
palm  downwards,  with  outstretched  fingers.  This 
method  is  not,  however,  to  be  strongly  recommended, 
for  raps  are  easily  imitated  :  and  we  must  never  lose 
sight  of  that  fact  when  appreciating  an  experiment  ; 
further  on,  I  will  enumerate  the  usual  fraudulent 
processes.  Still,  even  when  the  hands  are  resting  upon 
the  table,  raps  can  be  obtained  of  sufficient  sonority  to 
exclude  the  hypothesis  of  fraud,  if  not  absolutely,  at  least 
with  much  probability. 

I  have  received  raps  in  full  light.  I  have  received 
them  so  frequently  in  vivid  light,  that  sometimes  I 
cannot  help  wondering,  whether  darkness  facilitates  their 
production  to  the  same  extent  as  it  may  other  pheno- 
mena. It  is,  however,  allowable  to  suppose,  that  the 
energy  which  produces  them  prefers  accumulating  force 
in  spots  that  are  sheltered  from  strong  light,  e.g.  under 
the  table,  or  under  the  floor,  or  in  shaded  corners  of 
the  room.  What  makes  me  suppose  so  is  this,  I  have 
frequently  noticed  that  the  raps  burst  forth  under  the 
medium's  hand,  when  they  appeared  to  be  produced  on 
the  top  of  the  table. 


74         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Contact  of  the  hands  is  unnecessary  when  sitting  for 
raps.  I  have  procured  them  quite  easily,  with  several 
mediums,  without  such  contact. 

When  we  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  raps  with  con- 
tact, one  of  the  best  ways  of  obtaining  them  without 
contact  is  to  let  the  hands  rest  for  a  certain  time  on  the 
table,  then  to  raise  them  very  slowly^  palms  downwards, 
and  the  fingers  loosely  extended.  Under  such  condi- 
tions, it  seldom  happens  that  raps  do  not  continue  to 
be  heard  for  at  least  a  short  time.  I  need  not  say  that 
experimenters  should  not  only  avoid  contact  of  their 
hands  with  the  table,  but  even  of  any  part  of  their  body 
or  clothing.  The  contact  of  clothing  with  the  table  is 
sufficient  to  produce  raps,  which  have  nothing  of  a  super- 
normal nature.  We  must  be  careful,  therefore,  that 
ladies'  dresses  especially  do  not  come  into  contact  with 
the  table  ;  in  taking  these  necessary  precautions,  raps 
can  be  obtained  under  most  satisfactory  and  convincing 
conditions. 

With  certain  mediums  the  energy  liberated  is  great 
enough  to  act  at  a  distance.  I  once  heard  raps  upon 
a  table  which  was  nearly  six  feet  away  from  the 
medium.  On  that  occasion  we  had  had  a  very  short 
seance,  and  had  left  the  table.  I  was  seated  in  an  arm- 
chair, the  medium  was  standing  by,  talking  to  me,  when 
a  shower  of  raps  suddenly  resounded  upon  the  table  we 
had  just  left.  The  experimenters  are  all  personally 
known  to  me,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  they  are  above 
suspicion  ;  but  this  circumstance  is  quite  insufficient  in 
itself  to  entail  a  favourable  conclusion  of  the  pheno- 
menon, for  I  cannot  too  strongly  put  experimenters  on 
their  guard  against  blindly  confiding  in  their  neighbours. 


RAPS  IS 

Serious  experimenters  should  exclude  all  susceptibility 
amongst  themselves,  and  agree  beforehand  that  reciprocal 
verification  and  control  will  be  freely  exercised  without 
any  one  taking  offence.  In  the  case  I  am  speaking  of, 
the  table  on  which  the  raps  were  heard  was  about  six  feet 
away  from  the  medium  and  myself;  it  was  daylight, 
towards  five  o'clock  on  a  summer's  afternoon ;  the  table 
had  never  been  touched  by  the  medium  or  the  experi- 
menters before  the  seance  ;  the  raps  were  loud,  and  were 
heard  for  several  minutes. 

I  have  had  several  opportunities  of  observing  facts  of 
this  kind.  Once,  when  travelling,  I  came  across  a 
medium  among  my  fellow-travellers.  He  has  not 
given  me  permission  to  name  him,  but  I  may  say  he  is 
an  honourable,  highly-educated  gentleman,  occupying 
an  official  position.  He  had  no  suspicion  of  his  latent 
faculties  before  experimenting  with  me.  I  obtained 
with  him  loud  raps  in  buffets  and  restaurants.  It 
would  suffice  to  observe  these  raps  produced  under 
the  conditions  this  medium  offered  me,  to  be  con- 
vinced of  their  genuineness.  The  unusual  noise 
attracted  the  attention  of  persons  present  and  greatly 
embarrassed  us  :  the  result  surpassed  our  expectations, 
for  the  more  we  were  confused  by  the  noise  of  our 
raps,  the  louder  they  became  ;  it  was  as  though  some 
one  of  a  teasing  turn  of  mind  was  amusing  himself  at 
our  expense. 

I  have  also  heard,  when  in  company  with  a  medium, 
some  very  fine  raps  given  on  the  floor  in  museums 
before  the  works  of  old  masters,  and  especially  before 
religious  pictures.  I  particularly  remember  the  intensity 
of  certain  raps  I  once    heard  when   standing   before    a 


76  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

painting  representing  the  burial  of  Christ, — the  work 
of  a  celebrated  artist.  I  also  heard  some  fine  raps  in  a 
house  which  is  celebrated  as  having  been  the  last  home 
of  a  famous  writer  ;  in  the  room  in  which  he  died,  the 
raps  were  so  loud  as  to  attract  the  suspicious  attention 
of  the  guardian. 

I  have  also  heard  formidable  raps  with  the  two  young 
girls,  fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  were  called 
the  Agen  mediums.  I  observed  these  mediums  at  their 
own  home,  and  I  also  had  them  twice  at  Bordeaux,  when 
on  each  occasion  they  remained  for  nearly  a  month. 
The  raps  produced  by  them  are  interesting,  but  they  do 
not  seem  to  me  to  be  demonstrative.  One  of  these 
girls  obtained  raps  on  the  floor  under  her  feet  ;  I  verified 
the  apparent  immobility  of  the  foot  while  the  raps 
were  being  produced.  When  the  two  girls  were  in 
bed,  loud  raps  were  heard  near  their  feet,  seemingly 
given  on  the  wood  of  their  bed.  We  were  able  to 
observe  the  apparent  immobility  of  the  children.  Raps 
were  also  given  on  the  blankets  ;  we  could  feel  the  vibra- 
tions when  laying  our  hands  on  the  blankets  ;  the  raps 
appeared  to  be  produced  under  our  hands.  I  have  heard 
diverse  noises  with  these  children  in  obscurity,  but  I  draw 
no  conclusion  therefrom.  I  found  out  that  they  were 
not  always  sincere,  and  that  they  had  a  tendency  to  take 
advantage  of  the  confidence  and  friendliness  of  the 
people,  with  whom  they  were  staying.  They  have  simu- 
lated some  of  their  phenomena,  especially  raps  in  the 
ceiling.  I  have  never  been  able  to  persuade  these  young 
girls  to  experiment  at  a  table  with  sufficient  conditions  of 
light.  They  were  accustomed  to  go  to  bed  in  order  to 
procure  their  raps.      It  is  true  I  have  heard  these  raps  in 


RAPS  77 

daylight,  but  I  consider  other  conditions  were  unsatis- 
factory on  these  occasions.  I  regretted  exceedingly  that 
these  mediums  showed  so  little  good-will,  for  even 
putting  aside  the  greater  part  of  the  suspicious  pheno- 
mena they  produced,  there  were  still  some  which  seemed 
to  be  worthy  of  further  examination. 

I  have  touched  upon  my  observation  of  these  children 
because  it  is  instructive,  although  it  may  be  negative 
from  my  point  of  view.  It  shows  the  inconveniences  of 
a  bad  method  of  development.  I  have  noticed  that 
psychical  phenomena  has  a  great  tendency  to  repeat 
itself,  to  follow  a  certain  routine:  they  tend  to  turn 
round  the  same  axis.  The  children  of  whom  I  have 
just  spoken  had  been  allowed  to  acquire  the  habit  of 
going  to  bed,  in  order  to  obtain  the  sonorous  phenomena 
they  appeared  to  produce.  Therefore  they  were  able 
to  obtain  them  only  under  those  conditions.  They  have 
never  given  me  a  *  rap '  by  means  of  a  table,  and  yet,  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  they,  or  at  least  that  one  of 
them,  had  the  constitution  necessary  for  the  emission 
of  psychic  force. 

My  failure  with  the  Agen  mediums  was  not  altogether 
devoid  of  interest,  for  I  gained  experience,  and  experi- 
ence is  only  acquired  with  time,  patience,  and  multiplicity 
of  observations.  It  is  useful  to  be  able  to  compare  good, 
doubtful,  and  bad  seances. 

Among  my  most  doubtful  experiences,  whose  recital 
may  be  as  instructive  as  the  foregoing,  I  will  choose,  for 
brief  discussion,  a  recent  series  of  seances  which  I  held  at 
Bordeaux.  Some  of  the  phenomena  I  observed  seem 
to  me  difficult  to  explain  by  fraud,  especially  lights  which 
floated  about  the  seance-room  ;  but  the  greater  part  of 


78  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  motor  phenomena  was  simulated.  The  personi- 
fication had  the  habit  of  demanding  total  darkness,  and 
as  I  was  chiefly  interested  in  luminous  phenomena,  I 
saw  no  inconvenience  in  putting  out  the  lights.  The 
personification,  which  made  this  request,  was  probably 
the  personal  consciousness  of  one  of  the  sitters.  As 
soon  as  the  lights  were  extinguished,  the  raps  became 
noticeably  louder.  Many  of  them  were  certainly  the 
work  of  two  of  our  number — I  have  not  been  able  to 
analyse  the  mental  state  of  these  two  young  men  :  one 
of  them,  who  is  neurasthenic,  acted  perhaps  uncon- 
sciously. Nevertheless,  though  I  observed  the  whims 
of  these  two  men  with  interest  and  attention,  I  noticed, 
at  the  same  time,  that  raps  were  forthcoming  in  total 
obscurity  when  I  made  imperceptible  movements,  e.g, 
when  I  gently  blew  on  the  table,  or  when  I  pressed 
the  hand  of  one  of  my  neighbours  whose  sincerity  I 
could  vouch  for.  There  was  always  this  synchronism, 
which  I  have  already  pointed  out,  between  the  muscular 
movement  and  the  rap.  Without  being  able  to  affirm 
it  absolutely,  I  think  I  may  say  that  my  co-experimenters 
were  not  aware  of  the  slight  movements  I  made  with  my 
feet,  hand,  finger,  or  breath.  In  these  sittings,  other- 
wise bearing  a  most  suspicious  character,  there  was, 
therefore,  a  residue  of  facts  worthy  of  attentive  analysis. 
I  was  unable  to  make  this  analysis,  having  shortly  after- 
wards ceased  to  experiment  with  the  group,  which  these 
young  men  frequented.  In  some  respects  I  am  sorry 
for  it,  as  the  observation  of  this  parcel  of  truth,  and  even 
of  the  two  fraudulent  experimenters  themselves,  was 
interesting  from  various  points  of  view. 

I  will  now  reconsider  the  experiments  I  first  touched 


RAPS  79 

upon — viz.  those  conducted  in  full  light — the  only  ones 
upon  which  I  establish  my  opinion.  I  have  indicated 
as  fully  as  possible  the  conditions  under  which  I  have 
been  able  to  observe  raps.  The  raps  most  commonly 
heard  are  those  given  with  contact  on  the  table  or  floor, 
and  then  those  which  are  given  at  some  distance  from 
the  experimenters. 

Sometimes,  but  more  rarely,  I  have  heard  them  on 
cloth,  on  the  medium's  or  sitters'  garments,  etc.  I 
have  heard  them  on  pieces  of  paper  placed  on  the 
seance  table,  on  books,  on  the  walls,  on  tambourines, 
on  small  wooden  articles,  and  particularly  on  a  plan- 
chette  which  was  used  for  automatic  writing.  I  have 
also  observed  very  curious  raps  with  a  writing-medium  : 
— when  he  wrote  automatically,  raps  resounded  with 
extreme  rapidity  at  the  end  of  his  pencil.  I  can  affirm 
that  the  pencil  did  not  strike  the  table,  for  several  times 
I  very  carefully  put  my  hand  on  the  opposite  end  of  the 
pencil,  and  I  was  then  able  to  verify  that  the  sound  was 
produced  at  the  point  of  the  pencil,  the  pencil  remaining 
all  the  time,  steadily  and  firmly,  on  the  paper — the  raps 
resounded  on  the  wood  of  the  table,  and  not  on  the 
paper.  In  this  case,  of  course,  the  medium  held  the 
pencil  in  his  hand. 

Consequently,  raps  may  be  given  upon  various  articles, 
with  or  without  contact,  and  even  at  a  certain  distance 
from  the  medium.  I  have  observed  some  which  burst 
forth  as  far  as  nine  feet  away  from  the  medium.  I  have 
not  obtained  any  at  a  greater  distance  than  nine  feet,  and 
it  is  not  often  I  have  been  able  to  observe  them  at  that 
distance.  One  of  the  most  curious  cases  I  have  observed 
is  the  following : — I  was  experimenting  in  a  room  where 


8o  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

there  was  a  screen.  The  table  was  about  nine  feet 
away  from  this  article.  Very  clear,  distinct  raps  re- 
sounded on  the  floor  behind  the  screen.  It  was  broad 
daylight,  but  the  raps  were  given  on  the  shaded  side  of 
the  screen. 

I  have  frequently  heard  raps  in  the  seance-cabinet,  the 
medium  seated  in  front  of  the  curtains  as  indicated  in 
section  ii.  chapter  i.  Thus  placed,  raps  are  easily  obtained 
behind  the  medium  :  they  may  be  given  on  the  floor, 
the  wall,  or  on  the  articles  placed  in  the  cabinet.  They 
are  also  frequently  given  outside  the  curtains,  on  the 
medium's  chair,  or  on  the  floor  under  him.  When  raps 
are  obtained,  it  is  very  easy  to  study  them  by  varying,  in 
many  satisfactory  ways,  the  conditions  of  the  experiment. 
This  is  one  of  the  phenomena  whose  reality  has  been  the 
most  clearly  demonstrated  to  me. 

The  variety  of  form  the  raps  may  take  is  not  less  than 
the  diversity  of  objects  upon  which  they  may  be  given, 
or  the  places  in  which  they  may  be  heard.  The  sound 
of  the  usual  rap,  on  a  table,  reminds  you  of  the  tonality 
of  an  electric  spark,  while  of  course  there  are  many 
variations. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  note  that  the  tonality  of 
raps  differs  according  to  the  object  upon  which  they 
resound.  It  is  easy  to  recognise  by  the  sound  if  the 
raps  are  given  on  wood,  paper,  or  cloth.  This  is  an 
interesting  demonstration,  because  it  indicates  that  the 
sound  is  produced  by  the  vibrations  of  the  material 
substance.  The  material  molecules  of  the  object  struck 
are  therefore  put  into  movement ;  they  are  not,  however, 
always  disturbed  in  the  same  way,  for  the  tonality  of  the 
raps  given  on  the  same  object  is  susceptible  of  great 


RAPS  8 1 

variety.    The  raps,  instead  of  being  sharp  and  short,  may 
be  dull  and  resemble  the  muffled  sound  of  impact  with 
some  soft  body  :  they  may  resemble  the  slight  noises  made 
by  a  mouse,  a  fret-saw,  or  the  scratching  of  a  finger-nail 
on  wood  or  cloth  :   they  may  affect   the   most  diverse 
modalities.     Their  rhythm  is  as  varied  as  their  tonality. 
One  of  the  most  curious  facts  revealed  by  the  observa- 
tion  of  raps,   is    their  relation    with    what    I    call    the 
personification.     Each  personified  individuality  manifests 
its  presence  by  special  raps.     In  a  series  of  experiments 
which  have  now  lasted  for  more  than  two  years,  I  have 
had  frequent  opportunity  of  studying  raps  personifying 
diverse  entities.     One  of  these  entities  called  itself  'John,' 
Eusapia's  control,  who  has  retained  a  friendly  feeling 
for  me,  it  appears,  ever  since  my  first  experiments  with 
the   Neapolitan   medium.     '  John '   manifests   by  short, 
sharp  raps,  so  very  like  the  manipulation  of  the  Morse 
telegraph,   that   my   co-experimenters    and   I   wondered 
whether  we  were   not   actually  listening   to    the    usual 
Morse  signals.     Unfortunately   none  of  us  knew  how 
to  recognise  letters  by  rhythm  as  exercised  telegraphists 
can.     A  group  of  four  individualities,  who  call  them- 
selves   the    '  Fairies,'    manifest    their    presence    by  raps 
resembling    high,    clear    notes.      These    personifications 
are  particularly  interesting,  and,  further  on,  I  will  have 
occasion   of  relating  how  one   of  them  showed  herself 
to  me.     The   four  fairies  are  fond  of  mingling  in  the 
conversation,   approving   or    disapproving   of  the    ideas 
expressed  by  the  experimenters.     They  appear  to  take 
considerable    interest  in   the    experiments,    and    I    have 
often  noticed  that   it   sufficed — when  the  raps  delayed 
in  making  themselves  heard — to  turn  the  conversation 

F 


82         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

upon  psychical  phenomena,  their  probable  explanation, 
their  conditions  of  realisation,  etc.,  in  order  to  receive 
approving  or  disapproving  raps  at  once.  Sometimes  the 
raps  imitate  a  burst  of  laughter — this  coincides  either 
with  an  amusing  story  related  by  one  of  the  sitters,  or 
with  some  mild  teasing.  Another  entity  personifies  a 
man  for  whom  I  had  the  deepest  affection  :  these  raps 
are  graver  in  character.  This  personality  seems  to  have 
the  clairvoyant  perspicacity  and  the  kindheartedness  of 
the  man  I  knew.  His  intervention  manifested  itself  under 
very  curious  circumstances,  but  of  too  private  a  nature  to 
be  made  public.  I  will  cite  another  personification  of 
more  recent  appearance.  It  gives  itself  out  to  be  the 
astronomer,  Chappe  d*Auteroche,  and  has  related  most 
accurately  the  details  of  his  life  and  death  in  California. 
As  a  biographical  notice  concerning  this  learned  man 
appears  in  several  dictionaries,  notably  in  Larousse,  it  is 
impossible  to  affirm  that  the  irruption  of  this  personifica- 
tion is  supernormal.  The  raps  which  announce  his 
presence  are  dull-sounding,  and  are  given  with  a  certain 
amount  of  force.  In  conclusion,  light  precipitated  raps, 
weak  but  abundant,  are  the  signals  of  certain  personifica- 
tions which  we  might  call  mar-joys — troublesome  guests, 
whose  unwelcome  intervention  spoils  the  experience. 

Let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  if  I  point  out  the 
connection  existing  between  the  personifications  and 
the  raps,  it  does  not  follow  that  I  accept  the  reality 
of  those  personifications.  I  am  making  a  statement, 
and  I  fill  in  all  the  details,  so  that  experimenters, 
tempted  to  resume  my  observations,  may  know  exactly 
what  I  have  observed.  So  far,  the  personifications  have 
not  convinced  me   of  their  identity.     It  is  true  I  act 


RAPS  83 

somewhat  indifFerently  the  role  of  listener  to  their 
fatiguing  and  rambling  conversations,  and  that  I  do  all  I 
can  to  bring  them  back  to  material  phenomena,  so  much 
more  important  to  me  in  that  they  are  so  much  easier 
to  verify.  Were  I,  however,  not  to  point  out  the  role 
which  the  raps  play  in  relation  to  the  personification,  I 
would  be  omitting  one  of  their  most  significant  features, 
and  would  not  be  giving  their  exact  physiognomy. 

They  manifest  themselves,  then,  as  the  expression  of 
a  will  and  activity  distinct  from  those  of  the  observers. 
Such  is  the  appearance  of  the  phenomenon.  A  curious 
fact  is  the  result — not  only  do  the  raps  reveal  themselves 
as  the  productions  of  intelligent  action,  they  also  manifest 
intelligence  in  response  to  any  particular  rhythm  or  code 
which  might  be  demanded. 

Often  the  different  raps  reply  to  one  another  ;  and  one 
of  the  most  interesting  experiences  one  can  have  is  to  hear 
these  raps  clear  and  resonant,  or  soft  and  mufHed,  sound- 
ing simultaneously  on  the  floor,  table,  furniture,  etc. 

I  have  had  exceptionally  good  opportunities  of  study- 
ing very  closely  this  curious  phenomenon  of  raps,  and  I 
think  I  have  arrived  at  some  conclusions.  The  first  and 
most  certain  is  their  undoubtedly  close  connection  with 
the  muscular  movements  of  the  sitters.  I  may  sum  up 
my  observations  on  this  point  in  the  three  following 
propositions : — 

1.  All  muscular   movements,   however   slight,   are 

generally  followed  by  a  rap. 

2.  The  intensity    of  the    raps  does  not  strike  me 

as  being  in  proportion  with   the  movement 
made. 

3.  The  intensity  of  the  raps  does  not  seem  to  me 


84  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  vary  proportionately  according  to  their 
distance  from  the  medium. 

The  following  are  the  facts  upon  which  I  build  my 
conclusions  : — 

I.  I  have  frequently  found  that  when  the  raps  were 
feeble  or  interspersed,  an  excellent  way  of  producing 
them  was  to  form  a  chain  of  the  sitters*  hands  round  the 
table.  One  of  the  sitters,  without  breaking  the  chain — 
which  he  avoids  doing  by  taking  in  the  same  hand  his 
neighbours'  right  and  left  hands — makes,  with  his  freed 
hand,  circular  sweeps  or  passes  a  little  distance  above  the 
circle  formed  by  the  sitters'  outstretched  hands.  Having 
done  this,  the  experimenter  draws  his  hand  towards  the 
centre  of  the  circle  to  a  variable  height,  and  makes  a 
slight,  downward  movement  with  his  hand  ;  then  he 
abruptly  arrests  the  movement  at  about  five  or  six  inches 
away  from  the  table,  when  a  rap  invariably  follows, 
corresponding  with  the  sudden  cessation  of  the  move- 
ment. It  is  exceptional  when  this  process  does  not  give 
a  rap  as  soon  as  there  is  a  medium  in  the  circle  who  is 
capable,  in  however  feeble  a  degree,  of  producing  raps. 

The  same  experiment  can  be  made  without  touching  the 
table,  i.e.  by  forming  the  chain  above  the  table.  One  of 
the  sitters  then  experiments  as  in  the  preceding  case. 

This  is  not  the  only  observation  I  have  made.  I  have 
noticed  that  with  mediums  of  decided  power,  it  was  un- 
necessary to  adopt  any  special  method  for  the  production 
of  raps,  as  they  were  forthcoming  as  soon  as  any  sort  of 
movement  with  hands  or  feet  was  executed.  With  strong 
mediums,  it  often  suffices  to  move  the  hand  above  the  table, 
to  shake  the  fingers,  to  gently  press  the  foot  upon  the 
ground,  in  order  to  determine  the  production  of  a  rap. 


RAPS  85 

Needless  to  say  with  some  mediums  raps  are  forth- 
coming without  the  execution  of  any  movement 
whatsoever :  with  patience  nearly  all  physical  mediums 
can  obtain  raps  without  movement.  But  it  seems  as 
though  the  execution  of  a  movement  acted  in  the 
nature  of  a  determining  cause  :  the  accumulated  energy 
then  receives  a  sort  of  stimulus,  the  equilibrium  is 
disturbed  by  the  addition  of  the  excess  energy  unem- 
ployed in  the  movement,  and  a  kind  of  explosive  dis- 
charge of  neuric  force  occurs,  causing  the  phenomenon 
of  raps.     This  is,  however,  only  a  working  hypothesis. 

The  synchronism  between  the  raps  and  the  movements 
made  by  the  sitters  is  very  interesting,  as  it  reveals  the 
connection  which  exists  between  the  organism  of  the 
experimenters  and  the  phenomena  observed.  Richet  has 
already  pointed  this  out.  Eusapia  Paladino,  unconsciously 
perhaps,  employs  a  process  analogous  to  that  which  I 
described  a  little  further  back.  This  synchronism  may 
give,  as  it  has  given,  equivocal  phenomena,  and  may  also 
give  rise  to  many  false  accusations  of  fraud.  This  is  per- 
haps how  Dr.  Hodgson  comes  to  attribute  certain  raps 
produced  by  Eusapia  Paladino  at  Cambridge,  to  the 
latter  striking  the  table  with  her  head.  Of  course,  I  am 
unable  to  affirm  the  reality  of  the  raps  heard  at  Cam- 
bridge, seeing  I  was  not  present  at  the  sitting  of  the 
Sidgwick  group.  I  can  but  say,  that  the  reading  of  the 
few  extracts  of  the  proces  verbaux  of  these  seances — most 
incomplete  extracts — does  not  by  any  means  indicate, 
whether  the  movement  of  the  Italian  medium's  head  was 
the  fraudulent  physical  cause  of  the  rap,  or  whether  this 
movement  was  but  a  synchronous  phenomenon. 

I  cannot  help   thinking  that    the   Cambridge  experi- 


86  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

menters  were  either  ill-guided,  or  ill-favoured,  for  I  have 
obtained  raps  with  Eusapia  Paladino  in  full  light,  I  have 
obtained  them  with  many  other  mediums,  and  it  is  a 
minimum  phenomenon  which  they  could  have,  and  ought  to 
have  obtained,  had  they  experimented  in  a  proper  manner. 

I  will  discuss  these  seances  more  fully  further  on.^ 
Therefore,  even  in  the  appreciation  of  fraud,  we  must  not 
forget  to  take  into  consideration  the  curious  synchronism 
I  am  pointing  out. 

There  is  another  useful  observation  to  make  known  : 
namely  that  raps  produced  by  synchronous  movements 
can  be  produced  by  the  sitters  themselves.  In  many 
cases,  I  have  seen  experimenters,  non-mediums,  obtain 
louder  raps  than  the  medium  ;  the  presence  of  a  medium, 
however,  is  necessary,  for,  the  persons  of  whom  I  speak 
obtain  no  raps  whatever  when  alone.  Here  is  a  subject 
for  study  which  has  not  yet  been  touched  upon. 

Sometimes,  in  order  to  obtain  raps,  it  suffices  to  touch 
the  medium,  or  to  make  a  slight  movement  with  the 
hand  above  the  table,  or  simply  to  place  the  palm  of  the 
hand  gently  on  the  table  ;  this  is  an  excellent  way  to 
obtain  clear,  decided  phenomena.  The  table  must  be 
moved  away  from  the  medium  in  such  a  way  that  contact 
is  impossible.  The  observer  puts  himself  beside  the 
medium,  takes  both  his  hands  in  one  of  his  own,  and 
moves  the  other  slowly  over  the  table,  or  even  keeps  it 
quite  still  above  the  table.  Nothing  is  more  demonstra- 
tive than  this  experiment.  Let  us  remember  I  am 
speaking  of  experiments  made 'in  broad  daylight. 

II.  Secondly,  I  have  verified  that  the  intensity  of  the 
raps  is  not  in  proportion  with  the  synchronous  movement. 

1  See  Appendix  B. 


RAPS  87 

I  am  unable  to  affirm  the  accuracy  of  this  statement  with 
the  same  confidence  as  with  the  preceding  one  ;  but  I 
have  observed  the  fact  in  a  great  many  circumstances. 
Thus,  e.g.  a  very  slight  movement  of  the  finger  will 
sometimes  determine  a  rap,  quite  as  loud  as  the  rap 
determined  by  the  abrupt  lowering  of  the  whole  arm. 

Again,  a  simple  muscular  contraction  also  will  bring 
about  the  realisation  of  the  phenomenon,  without  the 
execution  of  any  apparent  movement. 

This  observation  is  of  special  interest,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  for  it  tends  to  make  one  suppose  that  the 
energy  which  serves  to  produce  the  raps  is  independent 
of  the  movement  executed  in  space,  but  is  connected 
with  the  cause  of  that  movement,  i.e.  with  the  nervous 
influx.  It  would  be  well  if  experimenters,  more 
competent  than  I  am  in  physiology,  were  to  study 
these  observations  carefully  ;  I  sincerely  hope  this  will 
be  done  some  day.  Richet  might  well  undertake  these 
researches,  for  no  one  is  more  competent  than  he  is  to 
analyse  the  facts  I  am  pointing  out. 

I  think  there  is  a  close  connection  between  psychical 
phenomena  and  the  nervous  system.  What  I  have  just 
said  about  the  production  of  raps  by  the  simple  contrac- 
tion of  a  muscle  under  a  voluntary  nervous  influx  is  one 
of  the  reasons  upon  which  I  base  my  hypothesis. 

There  are  others.  I  have  often  questioned  mediums 
about  their  sensations  when  the  raps  were  being  produced. 
They  all  acknowledged  to  a  feeling  of  fatigue — of 
depletion — after  a  good  seance.  This  feeling  is  percept- 
ible even  to  observers  themselves.  I  have  tried  to 
analyse  my  own  sensations  when  the  raps  are  heard ;  I 
have  not  arrived  at  any  positive  result.     I  cannot  say  I 


88         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

have  any  decided  physical  sensation  ;  but  my  negative 
observation  is  only  of  interest,  if  compared  with  the 
different  observations  I  made,  in  connection  with  the 
production  of  movements  without  contact. 

One  of  the  mediums,  with  whom  some  of  my  best  and 
clearest  raps  were  obtained,  tells  me  he  experiences  a 
feeling  akin  to  cramp  in  the  epigastric  region  when  the 
raps  are  particularly  loud.  This  medium  is  a  clever  and 
highly-educated  man,  one  quite  capable  of  analysing  his 
own  symptoms.  It  seems  to  him  as  though  something 
emanated  from  his  epigastrum. 

III.  Regarding  my  third  proposition — the  intensity  of 
the  raps  is  not  appreciably  affected  by  distance — I  have 
found  that  raps  could  occur  as  far  as  three  yards  away 
from  the  medium.  The  raps  given  at  this  distance  were 
as  loud  and  clear  as  those  given  close  to  the  medium. 
This  fact  would  at  first  seem  to  imply  a  difference 
between  the  action  of  psychic  force  and  that  of  gravita- 
tion, light,  heat  or  electricity,  all  of  which  act  with  an 
energy  in  inverse  proportion  to  the  square  of  distances. 
However,  such  a  conclusion  would  be  premature,  for 
secondary  centres  of  accumulation  of  energy  may  be 
formed  at  a  distance  from  the  medium.  The  term 
*  accumulation  of  energy  '  is  very  vague  and  may  be 
incorrect,  but  I  dare  not  give  a  more  precise  one,  and 
confine  myself  to  simply  stating,  that  the  existence  of 
such  centres  of  accumulation  and  emission  seems  indicated, 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  phenomena  are  obtained. 

I  have  never  verified  any  serious  physical  effects  at  a 
greater  distance  than  that  of  ten  feet.  I  will  add  that  if 
the  phenomena  are  not  more  intense,  they  are  at  least  more 
frequent  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  medium. 


RAPS  89 

Such  are  the  observations  I  have  been  able  to  make. 
It  may  quite  naturally  occur  to  my  readers  to  think  I 
have  been  the  victim  of  illusion  or  fraud.  This  is  not 
the  case,  however. 

There  is  no  illusion,  simply  because  nothing  permits 
me  to  suppose  I  am  the  victim  of  illusion.  This  asser- 
tion is  insufficient,  I  admit  :  we  are  bad  judges  of 
ourselves.  And  now  I  ought  to  say,  that  if  up  to  the 
present  I  have  always  clearly  distinguished  between  real 
facts  and  subjective  impressions,  I  present,  nevertheless, 
two  phenomena  which  may  render  my  testimony  suspect. 
The  first  is  hypnagogic  hallucination,  the  second  coloured 
audition.  The  latter  is  not  very  decided  ;  sound  simply 
awakens  in  me  the  idea  of  colour,  not  the  visual  sensa- 
tion of  colour.  My  chromo-phonetic  scale  is  yf,  white  ; 
/,  black  ;  £,  grey  ;  £,  blue  ;  on,  green  ;  er,  air,  ceil, 
orange,  etc.^  This  phenomenon  was  rather  marked  when  I 
was  a  child  ;  but,  I  repeat,  the  reading  of  vowels  or  diph- 
thongs, or  the  audition  of  sounds  has  never  awakened  a 
complete  sensation  of  colour ;  the  idea  only  was  evoked. 

On  the  contrary,  hypnagogic  illusion  is,  with  me,  a 
decided  phenomenon.  The  illusion  is  exclusively  visual. 
I  have  carefully  observed  this  interesting  faculty  on 
myself  ;  it  appears  to  me  to  have  its  origin  in  dream.  It 
is  a  dream  begun  before  sleep  has  taken  complete 
possession  of  one.  The  hallucination  disappears  as  soon 
as  somnolence  ceases.  It  is  with  extreme  difficulty  that 
I  am  able  to  retain — even  for  a  second — a  hypnagogic 
picture,  when  I  regain  complete  consciousness  ;  in  spite 
of  all  my  efforts,  the  picture  fades  away  or  changes  form 

1  This  scale  is  applicable  to  the   French   pronunciation  of  the  vowels  in 
question. 


90  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

as  soon  as  I  fix  my  attention  upon  it.  I  have  seldom 
been  able  to  maintain  the  illusory  impression. 

We  must  not  conclude,  that  I  am  incompetent  to 
distinguish  a  real  phenomenon  from  a  false  one,  because 
of  the  existence  in  myself  of  these  two  subjective  pheno- 
mena. I  have  indicated  the  results  of  my  self-observa- 
tion in  order  to  be  thoroughly  sincere  and  complete,  for 
I  have  the  keenest  desire  to  be  an  accurate  witness.  I 
do  not  think,  however,  that  the  observations  I  have  been 
able  to  make  upon  myself  are  really  of  a  nature  to  cast 
suspicion  upon  my  faculties  of  observation.  Quite  the 
contrary,  I  should  say ;  because  my  personal  experience 
enables  me  to  recognise  hypnagogic  hallucinations,  and, 
further  on,  I  will  point  out  some  phenomena  which  seem 
to  me  to  be  closely  connected  with  these  hallucinations  ; 
but  as  for  raps,  they  have  quite  a  different  character,  and 
their  objectivity  appears  quite  certain  to  me. 

I  will  add  that  every  one  present  can  and  does  hear 
them.  Let  me  recall  to  mind  what  I  said  about  the  raps 
I  heard  in  railway  refreshment  rooms,  restaurants,  and 
other  public  places.  All  who  were  in  the  same  room 
showed,  by  their  demeanour,  that  they  too  heard  the  raps. 
This  circumstance  suffices  to  exclude  the  hypothesis  of 
hallucination.  I  propose  registering  these  raps  in  a 
phonograph  ;  this  will  be  the  experimentum  cruets  as  far 
as  their  objectivity  is  concerned. 

I  have  no  manner  of  doubt  whatsoever  upon  the 
authenticity  of  raps,  a  phenomenon  I  have  heard  so 
frequently,  and  under  such  diverse  and  excellent  condi- 
tions. I  have  also  taken  care  to  study  the  different  ways 
of  simulating  raps, — and  these  are  indeed  manifold. 

The  simplest  and  most  perfect  method  is  to  gently  glide 
— an  imperceptible  movement — the  finger-tips  along  the 


RAPS  91 

table.  The  results  are  better  when  the  finger  is  dry,  when 
the  natural  grease  has  been  previously  removed  by  turpen- 
tine or  benzine  :  resin  is  good,  but  leaves  traces.  Under 
these  conditions,  slight  but  clear  raps  may  be  obtained. 
The  movement  of  the  finger  is  so  slow,  that,  unless  fore- 
warned, no  one  can  discover  it ;  but,  with  attentive  obser- 
vation, a  slight  vibration  of  the  finger  may  be  perceived 
when  the  raps  burst  forth.  They  can  also  be  simulated 
with  the  finger-nails,  but  this  process  is  easy  to  unmask. 

The  trickster  finds  greater  security  in  darkness,  where 
he  has  resources  other  than  those  just  mentioned.  In 
obscurity  he  can  easily  imitate  the  raps  which  resound  on 
the  floor  ;  e.g.  he  can  produce  dull  raps  by  skilfully 
striking  his  foot  against  the  legs  of  the  table  or  on  the 
floor  ;  he  can  simulate  the  sharp,  quick  raps  by  allowing 
his  boot  to  glide  slowly  along  the  feet  of  the  table  or  chair. 

Raps  are  also  very  easily  simulated  by  a  gentle  rubbing 
of  clothing  or  linen,  especially  shirt-cuffs.  We  should 
beware  of  this,  for  raps  can  thus  be  produced  by  slow 
unconscious  movements,  and  the  good  faith  of  the 
experimenters  may  be  involuntarily  taken  by  surprise. 

There  is  yet  another  way  of  obtaining  fraudulent  raps  ; 
this  is  by  leaning  more  or  less  heavily  on  the  table. 
When  the  top  of  the  table  is  thin,  or  when  the  table  is 
badly  put  together,  or  the  parts  have  too  much  play,  the 
variations  of  the  pressure  of  the  hand  determine  noises 
which  greatly  resemble  raps. 

Lastly,  I  have  sometimes  observed  raps  produced  in  a 
way  which  should  be  made  known.  Some  people,  by 
leaning  the  foot  in  a  certain  way,  and  by  contracting  the 
muscles  of  the  leg,  can  imitate  raps  on  the  ground.  This 
fact  has  been  indicated  especially  in  connection  with  the 
sinews  of  the  musculus  peronaeus  longus.     I  observed  a 


92  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

medical  student,  an  incorrigible  cheat  and  neurotic,  who 
obtained  sounds  very  similar  to  authentic  raps  by  leaning 
his  elbow  on  the  table,  and  making  certain  movements 
with  his  shoulder.  There  are  also  some  people  who  can 
make  their  joints  crack  at  will. 

But  force  of  habit  soon  teaches  how  to  ferret  out 
fraud,  when  working  in  daylight  or  with  good  artificial 
light.  Besides,  the  tonality  of  authentic  raps  is  charac- 
teristic, and  the  method  of  simulation  indicated  at  the 
beginning  of  these  remarks,  i.e.  finger-gliding,  is  the 
only  one  able  to  reproduce  some  of  the  raps  with  even 
a  fair  amount  of  exactness. 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  possible  to  simulate  raps 
on  the  table,  when  they  are  produced  without  contact. 
It  is  easy  to  localise  them,  and  auscultation  of  the  table 
enables  us  even  to  perceive  the  vibrations  of  the  wood. 
Precautions,  easily  taken,  enable  us  to  make  sure  of  the 
absence  of  contact  and  communication  between  the  ex- 
perimenters and  the  table. 

To  sum  up,  I  am  certain — as  far  as  it  is  reasonably 
possible  to  be  certain  of  anything  in  such  a  matter — that 
knockings  of  variable  rhythm  and  tonality  are  heard  in 
the  presence  of  certain  persons — knockings  or  *  raps ' 
which  cannot  be  explained  by  any  known  process.  They 
are  heard  at  diverse  distances  ;  they  often  seem  to  obey 
the  expressed  wishes  of  the  sitters,  and  to  manifest  a 
certain  independent  intelligence.  On  the  other  hand, 
their  production  appears  to  be  intimately  connected  with 
the  nerve-energy  of  the  medium  and  the  sitters. 

I  think  I  am  able  to  express  the  foregoing  conclusions 
with  certainty  and  confidence. 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS        93 


CHAPTER   III 

PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS 

I.    PARAKINESIS 

I  APPLY  the  term  parakinesis  to  the  production  of  those 
movements  where  the  contact  observed  is  insufficient  to 
account  for  them.  I  thus  more  especially  designate  the 
complete  levitation  of  a  table  upon  which  the  sitters 
are  leaning  their  hands  ;  also  the  displacement  of  heavy- 
pieces  of  furniture  which  are  but  lightly  touched  by  the 
medium  alone,  or  with  other  experimenters.  Levitation 
is  the  raising  of  an  object  from  the  ground  without  that 
object  resting  on,  or  being  in  any  contact  whatsoever 
with,  any  normal  support. 

I  have  frequently  observed  this  phenomenon  with 
Eusapia  Paladino  under  satisfactory  conditions  of  light 
and  other  tests.  She  has  given  me  several  unimpeach- 
able examples  of  parakinetic  levitation,  and,  I  repeat,  in 
full  light.  A  detailed  report  will  be  found  in  the 
accounts  of  seances  at  TAgnelas,  published  in  1896  in 
the  Annales  des  Sciences  Psychiques. 

These  accounts,  however,  give  only  the  physiognomy 
of  the  regular  seances.  We  sometimes  improvised 
experiments  in  the  afternoon  with  striking  results ; 
and  I  remember  having  observed  under  these  condi- 
tions a  very  interesting  levitation.     It  was,  I  think,  at 


94         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  at  all  events  it  was 
broad  daylight  in  the  drawing-room  at  FAgnelas.  We 
were  standing  around  the  table  ;  Eusapia  took  my  hand 
and  held  it  in  her  left,  resting  her  hand  on  the  right-hand 
corner  of  the  table.  The  table  was  raised  to  the  level 
of  our  foreheads  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  top  of  the  table 
was  raised  to  a  height  of  about  five  feet  from  the 
floor. 

Experiences  like  this  are  very  convincing.  It  was 
utterly  impossible  for  Eusapia,  given  the  conditions  of 
the  experiment,  to  have  lifted  the  table  by  normal 
means.  One  has  but  to  consider,  that  she  touched 
only  the  corner  of  the  table  to  realise  what  a  heavy 
weight  she  would  have  had  to  raise  had  she  done  so 
by  muscular  effort.  Moreover,  she  had  no  hold  what- 
soever of  the  table.  And,  given  the  conditions  under 
which  the  phenomenon  occurred,  she  could  not  have 
had  recourse  to  any  of  the  means  suggested  by  her 
critics,  such  as  straps  or  hooks  of  some  kind. 

In  ordinary  seances,  the  table  used  to  be  raised  to  a 
lesser  height ;  perhaps  because  we  were  seated,  and  could 
not  therefore  accompany  it  very  far.  As  a  rule,  the 
levitation  was  preceded  by  oscillations  ;  the  table  raised 
itself  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other,  and  finally  left 
the  ground.  Very  often  Eusapia,  holding  her  neigh- 
bours' hands,  would  abandon  all  contact  with  the  table, 
and  make  several  passes  above  it,  when  the  table  would 
rise,  apparently  of  its  own  accord. 

I  have  only  obtained  parakinetic  levitation  under 
really  good  conditions  with  Eusapia.  I  have  observed 
more  decided  movements  without  contact  with  other 
mediums,    but    they    have    not    given    me   levitations 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS         95 

properly  so-called.  I  have  once  or  twice  obtained 
defective  levitations  with  a  non-professional  medium. 
The  table  drew  near  to  her  of  its  own  accord,  and  raised 
itself  while  touching  her  dress.  This  fact  occurred  in 
the  light,  but  the  conditions  under  which  I  observed  it 
were  imperfect.  I  may  say  the  same  thing  of  some 
levitations  I  obtained  at  Bordeaux  with  rather  an 
interesting  professional  medium  ;  these  levitations  took 
place  in  total  obscurity,  which  rendered  good  conditions 
of  control  impossible  ;  besides  no  one  held  the  medium's 
hands  and  feet,  as  had  been  done  with  Eusapia. 

In  a  series  of  experiments  which  gave  me  some  results 
worthy  of  careful  examination,  I  obtained  the  levitation 
of  the  table  under  slightly  better  conditions.  But  some 
of  the  sitters  cheated  so  barefacedly,  that  I  do  not 
consider  I  ought  to  take  any  serious  notice  of  the 
parakinetic  movements  I  witnessed  there  ;  although  I 
have  the  impression  that  everything  was  not  simulated 
which  happened  in  this  group.  The  unsatisfactory  con- 
ditions under  which  I  made  this  series  of  experiments  led 
me  to  discontinue  them. 

I  consider  that  the  levitation  of  the  table,  even  with 
the  contact  of  the  hands,  is  a  difficult  phenomenon  to 
obtain  under  good  conditions  of  observation.  Up  to 
the  present,  Eusapia  Paladino  is,  I  repeat,  the  only 
medium  with  whom  I  have  been  able  to  verify  the 
phenomenon  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

Her  method  is  similar  to  the  one  I  indicated  and 
recommended  to  my  readers.  Phenomena  is  often 
forthcoming  when  she  raises  her  hand  above  the  table. 
Although  I  do  not  consider  myself  authorised  to  affirm 
the  reahty  of  the  effect  this  method  appears  to  exercise 


96         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

upon  the  phenomenon  of  levitation,  I  indicate  it  because 
the  positive  results,  which  similar  practices  have  given  me 
in  telekinetic  experiments,  lead  me  to  think  it  may  also 
answer  for  parakinetic  experiments.  Let  me  briefly 
explain  this  method.  When  the  experimenters  have 
their  hands  on  the  table,  and  the  latter  begins  to  sway 
about  from  side  to  side  as  if  it  were  trying  to  raise  itself, 
one  of  the  sitters  puts  his  hand  above  the  table,  palm 
downwards,  and  approaches  it  to  within  two  or  three 
centimetres  of  the  top.  Then  he  raises  it  very  gently ; 
while  doing  this,  the  levitation  sometimes  takes  place  as 
though  the  hand  drew  the  table  after  it. 

I  recommend  experimenting  with  as  much  light  as 
possible.  We  must  not  forget  that  nothing  is  easier  to 
simulate  than  a  parakinetic  levitation.  Force  of  habit 
will  soon  teach  us  how  to  recognise  fraudulent  pheno- 
mena of  this  kind,  but  it  is  nevertheless  important  to 
know  beforehand  the  principal  systems  of  cheating. 
With  the  reader's  permission  I  will  indicate  them. 

The  position,  which  the  experimenters  are  obliged  to 
assume  around  the  table  when  they  are  seated,  has  the 
consequence  of  almost  completely  hiding  their  feet.  As 
soon  as  the  lights  are  lowered,  it  is  nearly  impossible  to 
exercise  that  mutual  control  which  it  is  indispensable 
should  be  exercised.  Now,  when  the  hands  rest  a  little 
forcibly  on  the  table,  it  is  very  easy,  especially  with  a 
light  table,  to  glide  the  point  of  a  shoe  under  one  of  the 
legs  of  the  table  and  to  raise  it  above  the  ground.  This 
manoeuvre  is  all  the  easier,  as  the  swaying  of  the  table 
from  side  to  side  permits  one  to  effect  the  movement, 
without  much  fear  of  detection.  Needless  to  say  that 
hooks   attached    to    the   wrist,    or    specially   contrived 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS         97 

bracelets,  also  permit  of  raising  and  holding  the  table  in 
the  air.  But  it  is  easy  to  protect  oneself  against  fraud 
of  this  nature.  Let  every  one  stand  up  and  join  hands 
in  the  centre  of  the  table ;  the  kind  of  fraud  I  indicate 
will  then  be  impossible.  I  myself  have  often  obtained 
fine  levitations  in  this  way,  but  unfortunately  in 
obscurity. 

I  will  point  out  still  another  fraudulent  process  prac- 
tised at  times  by  professional  mediums.  It  consists  in 
the  following  manoeuvre.  The  medium  places  himself 
at  the  narrow  end  of  a  table, — in  preference  a  rectangular 
one — he  promotes  various  oscillations,  and  when  he  has 
succeeded  in  raising  the  end  opposite  to  him,  he  spreads 
out  his  legs  in  such  a  way  as  to  exercise  a  strong  hold 
over  the  feet  of  the  table,  between  which  he  is  sitting. 
Once  this  pressure  is  exercised,  there  is  nothing  more  for 
the  medium  to  do,  in  order  to  obtain  a  levitation,  than 
to  lean  his  hands  heavily  on  the  table.  It  is  easy  to 
understand  how  the  table,  maintained  in  position  by  the 
trickster's  knees,  executes  a  rotatory  movement  around 
an  axis  the  points  of  which  are  fixed  by  the  pressure 
of  the  knees  ;  consequently  the  table,  becoming  parallel 
with  the  ground,  appears  to  be  abnormally  levitated. 
This  simulation  can  be  successfully  realised,  even  when 
some  one  is  seated  on  a  chair  on  top  of  the  table  ;  under 
the  pretence  of  offering  a  better  condition  of  control,  the 
medium  takes  the  hands  of  the  person  on  the  table,  and 
finds  in  him  the  point  of  support  required  to  promote 
the  rotation  of  the  table  around  its  axis.  We  should 
keep  this  kind  of  fraud  before  the  mind's  eye  when 
seeking  to  obtain  levitations,  especially  if  operating  in 
obscurity,  for  then  this  trick  is  most  easy  of  execution. 

G 


98  METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Once  again,  I  cannot  too  strongly  warn  experimenters 
against  dark  seances  :  they  are  absolutely  worthless  when 
paranormal  phenomena  are  required.  These  ought  to  be 
obtained  in  full  light  ;  under  such  conditions  the  levita- 
tion  of  the  table  is  a  verifiable  phenomenon. 


II.    TELEKINESIS 

I  will  now  relate  my  observations  upon  telekinesis, 
that  is  to  say,  movements  without  contact.  Telekinesis 
corresponds  with  V exteriorisation  de  la  motricite^  discovered 
by  Colonel  de  Rochas.  It  is  a  phenomenon  which  I 
have  taken  particular  pains  to  verify.  I  have  had 
exceptionally  good  experiences  in  this  phase  of  mani- 
festation. 

I  verified  telekinetic  phenomena  with  Eusapia  Paladino 
first  of  all.  When  operating  with  this  medium,  the 
seance-table  was  often  elevated  without  contact.  As  a 
rule,  Eusapia  formed  the  chain  of  hands  around  the  table 
without  touching  it  ;  at  the  end  of  a  few  seconds,  she 
would  make  some  passes  over  the  table  with  her  right 
hand,  retaining  her  hold  of  her  right-hand  neighbour's 
hand  at  the  same  time  :  the  table  would  then  leave  the 
floor,  and  remain  suspended  in  the  air  for  several 
seconds.  It  fell  to  the  ground  heavily  as  a  rule.  This 
experiment  was  made  several  times  in  my  presence  under 
satisfactory  conditions  of  light. 

It  was  not  only  the  table  which  moved  with  Eusapia  : 
the  curtains  of  the  cabinet  were  often  thrown  over 
the  table,  as  if  a  strong  wind  had  blown  them  out.  This 
phenomenon  was  particularly  noticeable  at  I'Agnelas, 
where  we  experimented  in  front  of  the  curtains  of  one  of 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS        99 

the  drawing-room  windows.  These  curtains  were  made 
of  heavy  silk  material,  and  nothing  was  more  curious 
than  to  see  them  swell  out  and  suddenly  stretch  over  us. 
The  manner  in  which  they  were  thrown  over  our  heads 
was  peculiar  ;  it  was  as  though  they  had  been  blown  out. 
Without  an  adapted  instrument  of  some  kind,  I  do  not 
think  it  was  possible  for  the  medium  to  produce  this 
phenomenon  fraudulently  with  her  hand.  I  obtained 
the  same  characteristic  movements  of  curtains  with 
another  medium. 

With  Eusapia,  the  sitters'  chairs  were  frequently  dis- 
placed, shaken,  raised,  and  even  carried  on  to  the  table. 
I  cannot  conceive  how  Eusapia  could  have  obtained  such 
results  normally,  considering  the  strict  test  conditions 
exacted  at  FAgnelas.  We  had  been  courteously  ac- 
quainted with  the  results  of  the  Cambridge  seances,  and 
our  attention  had  been  very  specially  drawn  to  the 
fraudulent  practices  of  this  medium.  One  of  us  held  her 
feet  and  her  waist,  while  the  mission  of  two  others,  seated 
on  either  side  of  her,  was  to  observe  her  hands.  It  is 
relatively  easy  to  know  if  we  hold  a  right  or  left  hand  : 
it  suffices  to  carefully  note  the  position  of  the  thumb, 
which  ought  always  to  be  turned  towards  the  observer  if 
the  hand  be  directed  palm  upwards,  and  which  ought  to 
be  turned  towards  the  medium  if  the  hand  be  directed 
palm  downwards.  It  is  unnecessary  to  hold  the  me- 
dium's hand  tightly  in  order  to  be  aware  of  its  position  : 
an  ordinary  contact,  intelligently  superintended,  is  quite 
enough  ;  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  make  sure  of  the 
simultaneous  contact  of  thumb  and  fingers.  Now,  in 
a  certain  number  of  cases,  the  check  upon  the  medium 
was  good,  when  the  chair  of  one  of  the  sitters  was  carried 


loo       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

on  to  the  table.  It  is  also  to  be  noted,  that  Eusapla 
would  have  been  forced  to  lean  forward  in  a  very 
marked  manner,  in  order  to  seize  her  neighbour's  chair 
and  carry  it  on  to  the  table  ;  the  inclination  of  her  body 
would  have  been  easily  perceived,  especially  as  the  chair 
was  first  of  all  drawn  away  from  under  the  experimenter 
and  then  raised  on  to  the  table,  manoeuvres  which  occu- 
pied some  time. 

Other  phenomena  of  the  same  kind  were,  however, 
produced  in  a  more  conclusive  manner.  I  remember 
having  seen  the  lid  of  a  trunk,  which  was  placed  behind 
the  experimenters  and  to  the  left  of  Eusapia,  open  and 
shut  of  its  own  accord. 

Lastly,  I  obtained  with  this  medium  a  very  convincing 
phenomenon,  which  M.  de  Gramont  had  already  verified 
at  TAgnelas  after  my  departure.  This  is  the  movement 
at  a  distance  of  the  scale  of  a  letter-balance.  I  made  the 
experiment  at  Bordeaux  in  the  presence  of  a  few  intel- 
ligent and  educated  persons.  We  operated  in  a  light 
which  was  strong  enough  to  enable  us  to  read  the  faintly 
marked  divisions  on  the  scale.  This  object  had  just 
been  purchased  by  me,  and  I  had  drawn  it  from  its 
wrappings  just  prior  to  the  experiment.  Before  our 
eyes  Eusapia  repeatedly  made  the  scale  go  down  by 
raising  and  lowering  her  hands,  palms  downwards. 
Eusapia's  hands  were  from  three  to  five  inches  away 
from  the  letter-balance  ;  she  performed  the  movements 
described  without  abandoning  her  neighbour's  hands. 
We  obtained  the  lowering  of  the  plate  of  the  balance 
several  times,  each  time  varying  the  position  of  the 
medium's  hands,  placing  them  in  front  of  the  apparatus 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  triangle  of  which  the 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      loi 

plate  was  the  apex,  and  bringing  the  medium's  hands 
together  so  that  the  angle  at  the  apex  became  very 
acute.  This  was  done  in  order  to  obviate  the  possibility 
of  the  medium  producing  the  effect  by  means  of  a  hair 
or  thread  between  her  fingers.  I  must  point  out, 
however,  that  a  hair  or  thread  would  have  been  visible. 

By  turning  her  hands  round,  that  is  to  say  by  direct- 
ing them  palms  upwards,  Eusapia  raised  the  plate  of  the 
letter-balance  to  its  full  extent  when  it  was  weighed 
down  by  a  pocket-book.  By  measuring  the  oscillations 
of  the  index-needle,  we  were  able  to  ascertain  that  the 
force  employed  was  at  least  one  ounce  superior  in  weight 
to  that  of  the  pocket-book. 

The  facts  I  verified  with  Eusapia,  I  was  able  to  prove 
again  through  other  mediums,  non-professional.  On 
two  occasions,  I  obtained  fine  telekinetic  phenomena  in 
a  public  restaurant.  I  was  in  the  company  of  a  good 
sensitive,  a  highly  intelligent  man,  but  one  who  knew 
little  or  nothing  of  spiritism.  The  first  time  I  was 
breakfasting  with  him  ;  we  were  seated  at  a  fairly  large 
table,  near  which  was  a  small  round  one  ;  the  cloth  which 
was  covering  our  table  touched  the  small  one.  We 
first  heard  several  fine  raps,  and  then  the  small  table 
drew  gradually  nearer  till  it  touched  the  big  one.  There 
had  been  a  displacement  of  eleven  inches.  It  was 
broad  daylight,  and  the  conditions  under  which  I  ob- 
served this  fact  completely  exclude — at  least  in  my 
opinion — the  hypothesis  of  fraud.  Another  time  we 
were  lunching  together.  I  was  seated  at  the  left-hand 
side  of  the  medium,  and  we  were  alone  at  our  table. 
Two  chairs  were  facing  us,  while  a  third  one  was  on  the 
medium's  right,  facing  another  table.     The  chair  to  the 


I02        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


right  of  the  medium  approached  the  table,  and  then 
retreated  at  our  request.  The  chzir  facing  me  reproduced 
the  same  movements.     The  light  was  so  bright  that  I 

Chair.  Chair. 


(U 

.Q 

rj 

V4 

H 

j3 

'O 

u 

o 

u 

« 

1              1              1 

CO 

^ 

/laxwell 

] 

Medium 

. 

was  able  to  observe  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  medium 
with  the  greatest  ease. 

These  plain,  decided,  easily  observable,  and  well- 
observed  facts  are  among  the  most  convincing  I  have 
received.  The  medium's  position,  the  bright  light,  the 
full  liberty  of  verification  which  was  permitted  me, 
rendered  these  observations  extremely  convincing  to  me. 
The  measuring  of  the  distances  between  the  table  and  the 
object  in  movement  excludes  the  hypothesis  of  halluci- 
nation on  my  part.  I  therefore  consider  that  all  possi- 
bility of  fraud  or  hallucination  was  out  of  the  question. 

Previous  to  the  movements,  I  had  established  contact 
with  the  chair  in  front  of  me,  by  means  of  one  of  those 
wooden  holders  to  which  newspapers  are  attached  in 
restaurants  and  buffets.  The  chair  in  approaching  us 
pushed  the  newspapers  towards  us,  and  we  were  thus 
enabled  to  watch  the  horizontal  progression  of  the  chair. 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       103 

The  distance  travelled  by  the  chair  was  from  seven  to  eight 
inches.  The  objects  moved  in  a  jerky,  irregular  manner. 
I  have  been  able  to  observe  telekinetic  table  move- 
ments on  many  occasions,  and  always  in  broad  daylight. 
Perhaps  the  most  curious  movement  I  have  seen  is 
the  following  :  A  lady  and  gentleman  once  did  me  the 
honour  of  inviting  me  to  witness  certain  phenomena 
which  they  were  often  able  to  obtain  when  experimenting 
together  ;  these  phenomena  consisted  in  slight  displace- 
ments of  a  table.  They  reproduced  these  movements 
without  contact  in  my  presence.  I  then  begged  them 
to  form  a  chain  with  me  around  the  table,  always  with- 
out touching  it  of  course.  This  table,  a  light  tripod, 
the  top  of  which  measured  eleven  inches  by  twenty- 
one  inches,  was  in  contact  with  the  dress  of  my 
hostess.  After  having  executed  several  diverse  gliding 
movements — approaching  or  retreating  at  request — the 
table  began  to  raise  itself  and  to  strike  the  floor  with 
one  of  its  feet.  We  spelt  out  the  alphabet,  and 
received  a  typtological  communication.  During  this 
performance,  the  table  was  in  contact  with  the  dress 
only.  The  dress  did  not  hide  the  feet  of  the  table,  the 
contact  was  simply  lateral,  and  the  table  could  be  seen 
in  entirety.  It  was  daylight,  and  it  would  have  been 
easy  to  detect  the  slightest  movement  of  the  dress. 
Moreover,  the  table  raised  one  of  its  feet  which  was 
not  in  contact  with  the  dress.  I  did  not  try — because  I 
did  not  wish — to  remove  the  contact  of  the  dress,  for  I 
had  often  observed  this  bulging  out  of  women  mediums' 
dresses  :  as  soon  as  the  garment  comes  near  the  table 
and  contact  is  established,  the  movement  is  produced.  I 
have  often  checked  the  position  of  the  medium's  feet, 


I04        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

while  the  phenomenon  was  happening,  and  I  have  been 
able  to  verify  that  the  slight  contact  was  with  the  dress 
only,  and  not  with  the  feet.  This  curious  fact  has 
already  been  observed  by  Richet  and  others,  in  connec- 
tion with  Eusapia  Paladino.  I  will  add  that  I  have 
often  obtained  movements  without  any  contact  what- 
soever, even  that  of  garments. 

Another  medium  has  enabled  me  to  verify  telekinetic 
movements  of  curtains.  They  were  less  violent  than 
with  Eusapia,  but  more  decided,  and  enabled  me  to  make 
some  observations  which  are  not  altogether  lacking  in 
interest.  I  was  once  experimenting  with  the  medium  in 
question,  in  subdued  light,  contrary  to  my  usual  custom. 
It  was  in  the  daytime,  but  we  had  closed  the  shutters  of 
the  window  and  drawn  the  curtains  together,  in  order 
to  form  a  kind  of  cabinet.  We  were  trying  to  obtain 
luminous  phenomena,  which,  however,  were  not  forth- 
coming. The  medium  had  his  back  turned  towards  the 
curtains.  I  noticed  that  the  curtains  stirred  now  and 
then.  I  drew  the  attention  of  an  experimenter  to  this, 
and  at  first  we  attributed  the  movement  to  a  slight 
draught.  We  drew  the  curtains  together  completely, 
and  then  observed  that  only  the  curtain  close  to  the 
medium  stirred.  It  was  light  enough  to  see  the  hands 
and  feet  of  our  medium,  and  we  were  able  to  convince 
ourselves,  that  the  movements  were  not  normally  pro- 
duced by  him.  We  then  noticed  that  the  movements  of 
the  curtain  corresponded  with  our  movements.  The 
experiment  was  repeated  with  success  twenty  times.  We 
varied  the  movements  and  were  able  to  observe,  that  the 
maximum  disturbance  of  the  curtain  occurred,  when  the 
medium  rubbed  the  head  of  one  of  the  experimenters. 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       105 

The  curtain  was  not  blown  out  over  the  table  as  with 
Eusapia.  The  movements  simply  consisted  of  a  species 
of  undulatory  trepidation,  whose  amplitude  did  not  surpass 
five  or  six  inches :  it  was  like  the  sinuous  undulations  of 
a  rope,  when  shaken  at  one  of  its  extremities. 

Such  are  the  principal  facts  which  I  have  been  able  to 
observe.  I  will  not  have  much  to  say  concerning  the 
method  of  operation,  for  I  have  already  sufficiently 
indicated  how  I  proceed  habitually.  I  have,  neverthe- 
less, two  important  remarks  to  make. 

The  first  is,  that  the  presentation  of  the  palm  of  the 
hand  towards  the  object,  which  we  wish  to  displace, 
often  brings  about  the  movement.  1  proceed  in  the 
manner  I  have  indicated  for  a  parakinetic  levitation,  but 
instead  of  presenting  the  palm  of  the  hand  to  the  top 
of  the  table  and  then  drawing  it  slowly  away,  I  direct 
it  towards  the  side  of  the  table,  and  I  act  as  though  I 
wished  to  attract  or  repulse  the  table.  I  have  noticed 
that  this  practice  gives  good  results. 

The  second  remark  I  wish  to  make  is,  that  when 
desirous  of  obtaining  movements  without  contact,  it  is 
helpful  to  form  the  chain  around  the  table  by  holding 
each  other's  hands.  Still,  I  do  not  think  this  precaution 
is  indispensable,  for  I  have  obtained  telekinetic  move- 
ments without  its  aid.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that 
it  is  a  method  to  be  recommended,  especially  in  the 
beginning  of  the  seance. 

I  have  just  said  that  the  chain  of  hands  is  not  indis- 
pensable. And,  as  an  example,  I  remember  having 
once  verified  some  telekinetic  movements  which  inter- 
ested me  very  much.  I  was  conversing  with  a  private 
medium  :  by  the  way,  all  the  telekinetic  phenomena  of 


io6       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

which  I  have  been  speaking,  save  those  obtained  with 
Eusapia  Paladino,  have  been  obtained  with  private 
mediums.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation  we  pro- 
nounced the  name  of  a  personification,  whose  irruption 
in  our  midst  had  been  as  sudden  as  unexpected.  This 
personification  behaves  like  a  cautious  and  well-advised 
experimenter,  and  conducts  himself  as,  I  think,  I  would, 
if  I  co-operated  on  the  other  side  in  the  experiments  I 
am  speaking  about.  Hardly  had  I  pronounced  this  per- 
sonification's name  than  the  table  began  to  glide  gently 
across  the  floor.  We  questioned  it,  and  according  to  our 
request,  it  approached  or  retreated  from  the  medium. 
The  movements  of  the  table  alternated  with  raps.  I 
content  myself  with  merely  stating  this  curious  fact, 
without  allowing  myself  to  draw  any  conclusions  there- 
from ;  it  appears  to  me  to  offer  a  striking  example  of 
that  apparent  spontaneity,  which  psychical  phenomena 
sometimes  present. 

From  the  account  I  have  just  given  of  some  of  my 
experiments  in  parakinesis  and  telekinesis,  we  may 
deduct  the  following  propositions  :  they  resume,  fairly 
exactly,  the  points  of  fact  I  have  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain : — 

I.  There  is  a  certain  correlation  between  the  move- 
ments of  the  medium  or  assistants  and  the  movements 
of  the  objects  used  in  experimentation. 

II.  Certain  peculiar  sensations  accompany  the  emission 
of  the  force  employed. 

III.  That  force  has  a  probable  connection  with  the 
organism  of  the  assistants. 

I.  Nothing  is  easier  to  verify  than  the  correlation 
existing  between    the    movements   of  the    medium    or 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       107 

sitters,  and  those  of  the  object  with  which  we  are  ex- 
perimenting. I  may  say,  that  almost  without  exception, 
the  movements  of  the  operators  are,  in  a  way,  reflected 
by  the  table.  I  have  already  pointed  out,  that  move- 
ments of  attraction  or  repulsion  attracted  or  repulsed 
the  table.  I  have  remarked  this  peculiarity  on  several 
occasions.  When,  in  a  seance,  the  presence  of  a  certain 
force  manifesting  itself  in  raps  and  oscillations  without 
contact  is  established,  it  often  suffices  for  one  of  the 
sitters  to  direct  his  hand  towards  the  table  to  bring 
about  its  immediate  displacement.  By  proceeding  in 
the  manner  indicated  further  back,  I  have  noticed  that 
complete  levitations  could  be  obtained  ;  but  it  is  then 
necessary  for  the  sitters  to  put  their  hands  on  the 
table,  while  one  of  their  number  puts  one  of  his  hands 
in  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  palm  downwards  slowly 
raises  his  hand.  Levitations  without  contact  can  certainly 
be  obtained  by  the  same  method,  by  simply  forming  a 
chain  of  hands  around  the  table  without  touching  it ; 
but  the  results  are  less  difficult  to  obtain  when  the  hands 
are  laid  on  the  table. 

Levitation  seems  to  me  more  difficult  to  realise  than 
gliding  movements.  I  have  frequently  obtained  the 
latter  without  contact,  by  directing  the  palm  of  my 
hand  towards  the  table,  and  trying  to  draw  it  after  me 
as  though  an  elastic  thread  united  the  table  to  my  hand. 
Under  these  conditions  the  table  seems  to  obey  a  kind 
of  attraction. 

I  think  I  have  some  observations  to  make  on  this 
subject,  but  I  cannot  formulate  them  with  much  certi- 
tude, and  I  only  point  them  out  in  order  to  provoke — 
if  that  be  possible — the  examination  of  these  facts  by 


io8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

persons  more  competent  than  I  am.  First  of  all,  it  is 
not  always  the  medium  who  obtains  the  best  results  in 
the  manoeuvre  1  indicate.  I  have  seen  some  experimenters 
obtain  more  marked  movements  than  the  sensitive 
himself.  This  is  not  generally  the  case,  but  the  fact 
does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  rare.  It  is  rather  discon- 
certing, because  those  persons,  who  in  a  seance  manifest  a 
force  relatively  greater  than  the  medium's,  cannot  obtain 
any  supernormal  fact  when  alone  ;  the  presence  of  a 
medium  is  necessary  for  the  energy  of  their  action  to  be 
manifested.  I  wonder  if  this  be  not  due  to  the  medium's 
inexperience.  I  never  observed  this  pecuHarity  in 
seances  with  Eusapia,  although  the  sitters  could,  in  her 
presence,  produce  certain  phenomena  themselves.  I 
have  only  noticed  it  with  the  non-professional  mediums, 
who  kindly  consented  to  allow  me  to  experiment  with 
them.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  no  notion  whatever  of 
psychical  experimentation ;  most  of  them  were  alto- 
gether ignorant  of  the  practices  of  spiritism  ;  and  many 
were  frightened  by  their  first  phenomena.  These 
mediums  have  not  the  tranquillity  and  presence  of  mind 
of  myself  and  friends,  whom  a  long  experience  has  freed 
from  all  kinds  of  bias.  Perhaps,  therefore,  they  do 
not  operate  under  such  good  conditions  as  we  do,  or  as 
more  experienced  mediums  would.  Whatever  may  be 
the  reason,  I  note  the  fact  observed. 

A  second  interesting  observation  I  have  to  make  is 
the  unequalness  of  the  radiations  or  emanations  which 
appear  to  issue  from  the  back  or  palm  of  the  hand. 
The  action  of  the  palm  is  decidedly  more  energetic  than 
that  of  the  back  ;  as  an  example,  I  will  recall  to  mind 
the  experiment  with  the  letter-balance.      To   lower  it, 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       109 

Eusapia  lightly  moved  her  hand  from  top  to  bottom, 
palm  downwards ;  to  obtain  the  contrary  movement, 
she  turned  her  hand  in  the  opposite  direction.  There 
are  certain  obscure  peculiarities  to  elucidate  in  this  curi- 
ous unequalness.  It  is  desirable  to  study  it,  for  it  is 
one  of  the  rare  points  where  experimentation  is  really 
possible,  in  the  studies  of  the  kind  I  am  setting  forth. 
It  is  to  be  noted,  and  this  is  I  think  a  very  important 
consideration,  that  the  innervation  of  the  palm  of  the 
hand  is  much  more  abundant  than  that  of  the  back. 

In  what  concerns  movements  without  contact,  I  have 
not  noticed  any  unequalness  of  action  between  the  two 
hands :  the  left  hand  appears  to  act  quite  as  well  as  the 
right. 

In  the  third  place  I  have  verified  a  correlation,  between 
the  intensity  of  the  muscular  effort  and  the  abnormal 
movement.  This  is  an  interesting  observation,  for  I 
have  not  observed  it  when  studying  the  phenomenon  of 
raps.  As  an  example,  I  will  cite  an  experiment  which  I 
have  often  made.  When  the  liberated  energy  is  in- 
sufficient to  provoke  movements,  and  the  existence  of  a 
certain  quantity  of  force  has,  nevertheless,  been  ascer- 
tained, if  the  manoeuvre  of  attraction  does  not  succeed, 
we  can  sometimes  provoke  the  movement  by  shaking 
the  hand  about  at  a  certain  distance  above  the  table. 
This  rapid  movement  of  the  hand  and  arm  appears  to 
me  to  develop  a  maximum  of  telenergy. 

Again,  rubbing  the  feet  on  the  floor,  rubbing  the 
hands,  the  back,  the  arms,  in  fact  any  quick  or  slightly 
violent  movement  appears  to  liberate  this  force.  These 
manoeuvres  often  bring  about  the  realisation  of  the 
desired  phenomenon.    It  is  evident  that  such  manoeuvres 


no       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

must  be  employed  with  discernment  ;  some  of  them 
might  hamper  observation  :  e.g.  rubbing  the  fept  on  the 
floor  if  telekinetic  movements  of  the  table  be  desired, 
for  this  would  render  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
check  the  position  of  the  medium's  feet. 

The  breath  appears  to  exercise  a  great  influence ; 
things  happen  as  though  in  blowing  on  the  object, 
the  sitters  emitted  a  quantity  of  energy,  comparable  to 
that  which  they  emit,  in  quickly  moving  their  limbs. 
This  is  a  strange  peculiarity,  one  which  is  apparently 
very  difficult  to  explain. 

A  more  thorough  analysis  of  the  facts  permits  us  to 
think,  that  the  liberation  of  the  energy  employed  depends 
upon  the  contraction  of  the  muscles  and  not  upon  the 
executed  movement.  The  fact  which  reveals  this  peculi- 
arity is  easily  observed.  When  the  chain  round  the 
table  is  formed,  a  movement  without  contact  can  be 
procured  by  tightly  squeezing  one  another's  hands,  or  by 
resting  the  feet  very  firmly  on  the  floor  :  the  former  is 
by  far  the  better  process.  The  limbs  have  executed  an 
insignificant  movement,  and  we  may  say  that  the  muscular 
contraction  is  about  the  only  physiological  phenomenon 
visible  to  observers  ;  it  is  nevertheless  sufficient. 

These  ascertainments  all  tend  to  show  that  the  agent, 
which  is  the  determining  cause  of  movements  without 
contact,  has  some  connection  with  our  organism  and 
probably  with  our  nervous  system. 

Other  reasons  also  tend  to  prove  this.  Thus  it  is 
that  the  number  of  experimenters  influence  the  pheno- 
mena to  a  certain  degree.  The  levitation  of  a  table  is 
easier  to  obtain  with  five  or  six  persons  than  with  one  or 
two.     It  is  very  difficult  to  arrive  at  any  precise  con- 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       1 1 1 

elusion  on  this  point,  for  the  observations  I  have  read 
are  contradictory.  In  so  far  as  my  personal  experience 
is  concerned,  I  have  the  impression  that,  within  certain 
limits,  the  quantity  of  force  liberated  varies  in  direct 
proportion  with  the  number  of  experimenters.  Never- 
theless, a  certain  number  should  not  be  surpassed  if  we 
wish  to  experiment  under  good  conditions.  But  I  think 
that  the  diminution  of  results  may  have  other  causes  than 
the  diminution  or  increase  of  the  number  of  sitters.  I 
believe  that  if  we  could  assemble  a  number  of  homogeneous 
elements,  we  would  obtain  excellent  results.  This  would 
explain  the  so-called  miracles,  which  are  said  to  have  oc- 
curred in  certain  primitive  congregations,  where  beliefs 
were  strong  and  convictions  profound.  This  unity  of 
belief  and  ideas,  and  the  material  and  moral  regimen,  to 
which  every  member  of  the  community  submitted,  deter- 
mined that  harmony  which  is  a  fundamental  condition  for 
the  production  of  good  phenomena.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
historical  and  contemporary  '  miracles  '  may  be  explained. 
But  in  the  present  state  of  society  it  is  very  difficult 
to  unite  six  or  eight  persons  having  identical  ideas  and 
submitting  themselves  to  an  identical  discipline  ;  and  I 
have  always  thought  that  the  harmony  of  a  circle  was 
more  important  than  the  number  of  its  members. 

I  have  just  pointed  out  in  detail  certain  purely  physical 
processes  for  provoking  the  production  of  paranormal 
phenomena.  They  give  good  results  when  the  force  is 
feeble  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  force  is  abundant,  the  simple 
manifestation  of  the  will  is  sometimes  sufficient  to  decide 
the  character  of  the  movement ;  e.g.  the  table  will  move 
in  the  direction  asked  for  by  the  sitters.  Things 
then  happen  as  though  the  force  was   handled  by  an 


112        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

intelligence  distinct  from  that  of  the  experimenters.  I 
hasten  to  say,  that  this  seems  only  an  appearance  to  me, 
and  that  I  have  observed  certain  similarities  between 
these  personifications  and  secondary  personalities  of 
somnambulism.  But  1  would  not  be  giving  an  exact 
physiognomy  of  the  facts  observed,  did  I  not  lay  stress 
upon  this  curious  trait  of  their  character. 

In  this  apparent  union  between  the  indirect  will  of  the 
sitters  and  the  phenomena  there  is  a  problem,  the  solution 
of  which  escapes  me  so  far  completely.  I  feel  that  there 
is  nothing  of  a  supernatural  order  in  this  union  :  I  also 
feel,  that  the  spirit  hypothesis  is  altogether  inadequate  to 
explain  it  ;  but  I  am  unable  to  formulate  any  explana- 
tion. This  is  one  of  those  points  of  fact  which  I  confine 
myself  to  pointing  out. 

The  attentive  observation  of  the  relation,  existing 
between  the  phenomena  and  the  will  of  the  sitters, 
permits  of  the  demonstration  of  other  facts.  Firstly, 
the  bad  effect  of  discord  between  the  sitters.  It  often 
happens  that  one  of  them  expresses  a  desire  to  obtain  a 
certain  given  phenomenon  ;  if  the  requested  phenomenon 
be  not  immediately  forthcoming,  the  same  experimenter 
will  demand  a  different  one.  Sometimes,  several  of  the 
sitters  ask  for  several  contradictory  things  at  the  same 
time.  The  confusion  which  reigns  in  collectivity  is 
generally  manifested  in  the  phenomena,  which,  in  their 
turn,  become  vague  and  confused. 

Still,  things  do  not  altogether  happen  as  though  the 
phenomena  were  directed  by  a  will,  which  was  only  an 
echo  of  the  will  of  the  experimenters.  The  phenomena 
often  manifest  great  independence,  and  refuse  decidedly 
to  yield  to  the  desires  of  the  experimenters.     By  admit- 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       113 

ting  even  Janet's  hypothesis  on  the  secondary  personalities 
of  mediums,  stretching  it  from  cases  of  somnambulism  to 
cases  of  telekinesis,  a  fact  which  is  very  curious  from  a 
purely  psychological  point  of  view  is  to  be  met  with 
occasionally  :  the  secondary  personality  sometimes  mani- 
fests itself  at  the  same  time  as  the  normal  personality, 
and  a  conflict  between  them  is  the  result.  I  have  seen 
this  with  Eusapia,  when,  for  example,  she  wanted  to 
drink,  and  the  table  violently  opposed  itself  to  her 
wishes. 

To  sum  up  my  observations  upon  the  first  of  my 
conclusions  :  There  is  a  close  and  positive  connection 
between  the  movements  effectuated  by  the  medium  or 
the  sitters,  and  the  displacement  of  articles  of  experi- 
mentation ;  there  is  a  relation  between  these  displace- 
ments and  the  muscular  contractions  of  the  experi- 
menters ;  a  probable  relation,  whose  precise  nature  I 
am  unable  to  state,  exists  between  the  will  of  the 
experimenters  and  paranormal  movements. 

II.  Certain  peculiar  sensations  accompany  the  emission 
of  the  force  employed.  I  hesitated  before  deciding  to 
formulate  this  conclusion,  because,  notwithstanding  the 
great  number  of  observations  I  have  made,  I  am  only 
able  to  present  this  proposition  with  much  reserve.  The 
sensations  I  am  going  to  describe  are  purely  subjective, 
and  may  consequently  give  rise  to  all  sorts  of  error  and 
illusion.  Some  of  these  sensations  may  be  explained  by 
fatigue  or  prolonged  immobility.  In  spite  of  these 
causes  for  error,  which  are,  I  acknowledge,  very 
numerous  and  very  real,  it  seems  to  me,  that  the 
impartial  analysis  of  the  facts  observed  tends  towards 


114       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

showing   that    illusion,    error,    fatigue,    and    immobility 
do  not  explain  them  all. 

I  will  put  aside  visual,  auditory,  olfactory,  tactile, 
gustatory  sensations  ;  these  are,  moreover,  very  rarely 
observed.  I  will  limit  myself  to  examining  certain 
ill-defined  sensations,  which  appear  to  depend  upon  the 
general  sensitiveness,  and  not  upon  the  sensory  organs 
properly  speaking.  From  the  observations  I  have  made, 
I  am  inclined  to  discern  five  principal  sensations  : — 

(a)  The  sensation  of  cool  breezes,  generally  over 

the  hands. 
(^)  The  sensation  of  a  slight  tingling  in  the  palm 
of  the  hand,  and  at  the  tips  of  the  fingers, 
near  the  mounts. 
(c)  The  sensation  of  a  sort  of  current  through  the 

body. 
(^)  The  sensation  of  a  spider's  web  in  contact  with 
the  hands  and  face,  and  other  parts  of  the 
body — notably  the  back  and  loins. 
(e)  The  sensation  of  fatigue  after  strong  phenomena. 
(a)  The  first  is  very  frequently  mentioned  by  experi- 
menters.    It   is  an  impression  of  coolness,  or  even  of 
cold,  which  they  generally  feel  over  the  hands.     I  have 
not  been  able  to  settle  with  certitude,  if  this  sensation  be 
purely  subjective,  or  if  an  element  of  real  objectivity  be 
blended  with  it.     It  is  at  times  so  marked,  that  I  have 
some     difficulty    in     believing     that    it    is     altogether 
imaginary.     Though  it  often  precedes  the  production  of 
a  motor  phenomenon,  it  more  frequently  happens,  that 
the   sitters   feel   it  without  any  paranormal  fact  being 
forthcoming. 

This  peculiar  sensation  is  similar  to   what   is  felt  in 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      115 

seances  with  Eusapia  Paladino,  when  approaching  one's 
hand  to  the  scar  on  her  head.  What  she  calls  the  soffio 
freddo  is  very  decidedly  felt  :  it  is  as  though  a  current  of 
air  were  escaping  through  the  scar.  The  reality  of  this 
sensation  with  the  Neapolitan  medium  makes  me  think, 
that  the  cool  breeze  mentioned  in  other  seances  may 
have  some  objectivity.  It  is  to  be  noted,  that  I  have 
observed  this  phenomenon  with  mediums,  who  had  no 
familiarity  whatever  with  spiritistic  seances. 

Sometimes,  the  sensation  of  coolness  or  of  cold  extends 
to  the  whole  body.  Mediums  are  more  likely  to  feel 
this  than  other  experimenters.  This  sensation  can  bring 
on  veritable  shivering,  in  which  case  it  often  coincides 
with  a  phenomenon. 

{}/)  A  tingling  sensation  may  seem  to  be  solely  due  to 
immobility,  or  to  other  ordinary  causes,  such  as  pro- 
longed contact  of  the  fingers  with  the  table.  I  recognise 
that  this  explanation  is  true  nine  times  out  of  ten  ;  but 
in  certain  cases  it  has  appeared  insufficient  to  me  :  either 
it  was  felt  too  soon  after  the  debut  of  the  sitting  to  be 
due  to  fatigue,  immobility,  or  to  prolonged  contact,  or 
its  coincidence  with  certain  well-observed  phenomena 
was  too  frequent  to  be  fortuitous.  Therefore  it  appears 
to  me  probable,  that  there  is  some  connection  between 
this  tingling  sensation  and  the  emission  of  the  force 
utilised. 

What  is  the  precise  nature  of  this  tingling  sensation  } 
I  have  carefully  questioned  those  who  felt  it — and  nearly 
all  experimenters  feel  it  sooner  or  later — and  compared 
their  impressions  with  mine.  All  the  descriptions  tally  : 
it  is  the  sensation  of  a  slight  pricking,  having  its  seat  in 
the  palm  of  the  hand  and  its  maximum  intensity  on  the 


ii6       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

mounts  at  the  finger-tips.  Some  persons  compare  it  to 
the  sensation  one  feels,  when  lightly  touching  a  mass  of 
pin-points  or  a  stiff  brush  :  others  say  it  seems  to  them, 
as  though  their  hands  were  pierced  by  small  holes, 
through  which  something  was  escaping.  The  latter 
sensation  is  rarer  than  the  former.  This  tingling 
sensation  has  no  resemblance  whatever  with  the 
tingling  of  a  benumbed  limb. 

The  experimenters  feel  these  impressions  at  the 
beginning  of  the  sitting  ;  they  do  not  always  indicate 
a  good  seance,  but  I  have  noticed  that  if  phenomena  are 
going  to  be  received  at  all,  these  sensations  are  generally 
perceived  beforehand,  although,  as  I  say,  they  can  also 
be  felt  when  phenomena  are  not  forthcoming. 

(c)  The  sensation  of  a  current  passing  through  the  body 
is  less  easy  to  describe.  It  is  of  a  less  precise  nature 
than  the  preceding  one.  The  majority  of  persons  I 
have  questioned,  compare  it  to  the  sensation  which  is 
produced  on  them  by  the  passage  of  an  electric  current. 
To  me  this  assimilation  has  generally  appeared  approxi- 
mative. I  have  sometimes  felt  this  sensation,  and  can 
only  compare  it  to  a  very  slight  shiver,  a  kind  of  feeble 
vibration,  running  through  the  back  and  arms,  especially 
perceptible  to  me  in  my  right  arm.  This  sensation,  as  I 
feel  it,  is  not  continuous  ;  it  takes  the  form  of  waves 
rapidly  succeeding  each  other.  It  is  feeble,  and,  as  a 
rule,  I  can  only  perceive  it  by  paying  great  attention  to 
it ;  in  a  few  rare  cases  I  have  felt  it  very  distinctly. 

I  think  that  in  a  great  number  of  cases  this  sensation 
is  purely  subjective,  but — as  with  cool  breezes — it  does 
not  always  seem  to  be  so.  It  generally  accompanies  the 
production   of  phenomena   relatively   feeble    and   con- 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      117 

tinuous,  such  as  raps  and  gliding  movements.  I  have 
not  always  felt  it  when  strong  phenomena  were  forth- 
coming ;  but  then  I  was  not  always  in  contact  with 
the  medium,  and  often,  though  I  did  not  feel  any- 
thing, the  medium  mentioned  having  other  curious 
sensations,  which  I  shall  speak  of  presently.  Besides, 
the  chain  must  be  formed  in  order  to  perceive  this  sensa- 
tion of  a  current  with  all  the  accompanying  features  I 
have  just  described ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  for  the 
medium  to  be  in  the  circle.  This  sensation  can  also  be 
felt  by  simply  leaning  the  hands  on  the  table  without 
joining  them.  This  case  bears  an  analogy  to  the 
preceding  one,  if  we  suppose  that  the  table,  serving  as 
a  condenser  for  the  emitted  energy,  suffices  in  itself  to 
establish  a  sort  of  indirect  contact  with  the  experi- 
menters. And  things  seem  to  happen  as  though  this 
were  really  the  case. 

If  that  be  so,  we  can  at  once  understand  the  relation, 
which  appears  to  exist  between  the  mediate  or  immediate 
contact  of  the  observers'  hands  and  the  sensation  of  a 
*  current.'  There  is  something  here  which  is  very 
obscure  and  very  delicate  to  analyse,  but  which,  if  the 
fact  be  real,  appears  to  me  to  indicate  the  circulation 
of  some  thing  or  other.  It  is  probable  that  what 
circulates  is  precisely  the  energy  used  for  the  production 
of  the  abnormal  facts  I  am  relating.  True,  this  is  only 
a  hypothesis,  and  I  again  beg  my  readers'  pardon  for 
having  allowed  myself  to  be  drawn  into  the  field  of 
conjecture.     I  hasten  to  return  to  facts. 

'  If  the  sensation  of  the  '  passage  of  the  current '  be 
feeble,  it  is  not  so  with  its  abrupt  interruption.  When, 
for  some  cause  or  other — a  slight  discussion  between  the 


1 1 8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

operators,  the  medium's  emotion,  a  sudden  breaking  of 
the  chain — the  sensation  of  the  passage  of  the  current  is 
interrupted,  the  interruption  is  easily  felt.  It  may  even 
cause  a  sensation  of  sudden  indisposition,  if  the  interrup- 
tion coincide  with  the  phenomenon  in  course  of"  pro- 
duction. This  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one  easily 
observable.  The  sensation  of  the  breaking  of  the 
current  is  distinctly  felt ;  and  it  is  this  which  makes 
me  think,  that  the  feeble  impression  of  the  passage  of 
the  current  is  not  altogether  imaginary. 

The  sensitiveness  of  different  experimenters  varies 
very  much.  Some  are  most  susceptible  to  these  in- 
fluences, others  are  not  at  all  so,  or  only  very  slightly. 
I  remember  having  recently  assisted  at  a  seance  with 
one  of  my  friends,  a  man  well  known  in  the  fencing 
world.  My  friend,  although  he  is  still  young,  had 
an  attack  of  apoplexy  some  years  ago.  He  recovered, 
and  has  only  retained  a  very  slight  hemiparesis  of  the 
right  side.  Medically,  he  comes  under  the  category 
of  hemiplegics.  He  appears  to  be  extremely  sensitive 
to  the  impression  I  call  '  the  passage  of  the  current.' 
He  compares  it  to  the  sensation,  which  the  passage  of 
an  electric  current  produces  upon  him.  He  assured 
me  that  his  right  arm  was  affected  by  it  and  benumbed. 
He  told  me  that  he  experienced  a  similar  effect  when 
passing  near  powerful  dynamos ;  he  could  not,  for 
example,  stay  long  in  the  gallery  of  machines  at  the 
French  Exhibition  in  1900,  because  of  the  generators 
of  electricity  which  were  installed  therein.  He  had  a 
disagreeable  sensation  in  the  right  arm ;  the  uneasiness 
extended  from  the  arm  to  the  neck,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  neighbourhood  of  these  electrical  machines. 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS       119 

In  the  course  of  the  seance — a  very  uninteresting  one, 
by  the  way — he  declared  that  he  felt  an  identical  sensa- 
tion, and  he  was  even  compelled  to  leave  the  circle. 
I  relate  this  observation,  for  the  person  who  made  it 
is  an  intelligent  man,  and  quite  capable  of  correctly 
analysing  his  own  sensations.  It  is  needless  to  add 
that  he  was  cool  and  self-possessed,  and  observed  every- 
thing free  from  bias,  one  way  or  another. 

The  medium's  sensations  are  generally  much  more 
accentuated  than  those  of  the  sitters.  Sensitives  say, 
they  distinctly  feel  the  passage  and  the  interruption 
of  the  current ;  I  think  it  is  a  question  of  degree  : 
their  sensations  differ  from  the  sensations  of  other 
experimenters  only  in  degree.  There  is,  nevertheless, 
a  category  of  sensations,  which  is  almost  exclusively 
felt  by  the  medium  when  a  fairly  strong  movement  is 
forthcoming  :  this  is  the  sensation  of  a  sudden  emission 
of  force.  One  of  the  most  intelligent  mediums  I  have 
come  across  describes  it,  as  a  sensation  of  cramp  in  the 
epigastric  region  ;  it  seems  to  him  at  times  as  though 
he  were  on  the  verge  of  fainting.  I  have  indicated 
a  similar  sensation,  which  I  myself  once  felt  during 
a  levitation  obtained  with  Eusapia  Paladino.  I  felt 
the  same  thing  on  other  occasions,  but  not  with  the 
same  intensity.  I  remember,  for  example,  an  experi- 
ment made  under  the  following  conditions:  We  were 
holding  a  seance  on  a  winter's  evening  ;  the  light  on 
this  occasion,  though  feeble,  was  sufficient.  We  had 
covered  the  table  with  a  woollen  cloth  which  fell  over 
our  knees,  and  protected  us  slightly  from  the  cold. 
Upon  the  seance  table  we  had  placed  a  smaller  one 
upside  down.      We  touched  the  edge   of  the    smaller 


I20       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

table.  Having  noticed  that  the  small  table  appeared 
to  be  trying  to  raise  itself  on  one  side,  I  endeavoured 
to  increase  the  amplitude  of  the  movement  by  violently 
contracting  the  muscles  of  my  arms  and  legs.  While 
I  made  this  intense  effort,  we  saw  the  little  table  slowly 
lean  forward,  and  turn  itself  over  without  coming  into 
any  contact  whatever  with  ourselves.  When  the  pheno- 
menon was  accomplished,  I  felt  suddenly  very  tired.  It 
is  possible,  that  the  cause  of  this  fatigue  was  simply  the 
violent  effort  I  had  made  to  contract  my  muscles  ;  still, 
I  point  out  this  observation — which  others  of  the  same 
order  appear  to  confirm — because  the  correlation  between 
the  effort,  and  the  sudden  sensation  of  fatigue  is  less 
regular  than  the  connection  between  that  sensation  and 
the  phenomenon.  Whatever  may  be  the  intensity  of 
the  effort,  the  fatigue  is  felt  with  less  abruptness  and 
in  a  lesser  degree,  when  the  phenomenon  is  not  realised. 
I  may  add,  that  this  sensation  only  appears  to  me  to 
accompany  telekinetic  and  certain  luminous  phenomena. 
It  does  not,  as  a  rule,  accompany  raps  or  automatic  mani- 
festations ;  the  fatigue  determined  by  these  phenomena 
makes  itself  felt  progressively  and  more  tardily.  I  will 
return  to  this  however. 

{d)  The  experimenters,  and  particularly  the  medium, 
sometimes  speak  of  a  sensation,  which  they  compare  to 
that  which  is  felt,  by  coming  into  contact  with  a  spider's 
web.  This  appears  to  be  rarer  than  the  above-mentioned 
sensations,  and,  so  far,  I  have  not  noticed  that  it  was 
manifested  with  certain  phenomena  rather  than  with 
others. 

This  sensation  of  spider's  web  is  felt  about  the  hands, 
the  face,  and  at  times  the  back  and  loins. 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      121 

I  cannot  give  any  other  indication  upon  this  curious 
sensation. 

(e)  I  have  already  said  a  few  words  about  the  sudden 
sensation  of  fatigue,  which  is  felt  when  an  important 
phenomenon  occurs.  I  have  carefully  examined  the 
state  of  the  assistants  before  and  after  the  seances, 
and  I  have  invariably  noticed  that  most  of  the  experi- 
menters were  tired  after  a  successful  seance.  This  fatigue 
appears  to  be  in  fairly  exact  proportion  to  the  results 
obtained.  I  speak  of  parakinetic  and  telekinetic  results  ; 
for  it  must  be  noted  that  the  fatigue  determined  by  these 
abnormal  movements  is  not  identical — at  least  in  the  case 
of  the  medium — with  the  fatigue  which  other  phenomena 
appear  to  occasion. 

Movements  without  contact  entail  a  lassitude,  com- 
parable to  that  ensuing  after  a  long  walk  or  prolonged 
physical  exercise. 

III.  The  last  observation  leads  me  to  the  examina- 
tion of  my  third  proposition.  This  is,  that  the  force 
employed  in  the  production  of  para  or  telekinetic 
phenomena  has,  probably,  a  connection  with  the  organism 
of  the  experimenters.  The  analysis  I  have  just  made 
allows  one  to  surmise  the  very  serious  reasons,  which  lead 
me  to  formulate  this  conclusion  so  precisely.  The  first 
of  these  reasons  is  the  correlation,  existing  between  the 
movements  and  muscular  contractions  of  the  sitters  and 
the  paranormal  movements.  I  have  pointed  out  that 
this  connection  appears,  in  reality,  to  reside  in  the 
muscular  contraction  rather  than  in  the  free  movements 
of  the  limbs :  this  is  a  first  ascertainment.  There  is 
yet  another,  that  provoked  paranormal  phenomena  are, 


122       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

apparently,  approximatively  proportional  to  the  movement 
executed  by  the  experimenter  and  the  effort  he  makes. 

These  two  first  points  appear  to  me  to  be  acquired,  and 
the  correlation  observed  between  the  muscular  effort  and 
the  paranormal  movement,  indicates  reciprocal  depend- 
ence between  these  two  phenomena.  We  may  go  further, 
and  try  to  discover  whether  the  relation  indicated  resides 
in  the  fact^  itself,  of  muscular  contraction,  or  in  the 
physiological  fact  which  provokes  it — that  is  to  say, 
the  nervous  discharge.  Observation  tends  to  show,  that 
it  is  with  the  nervous  influx  that  the  relation  pointed 
out  appears  to  be  made  manifest.  In  support  of  this 
opinion  I  will  indicate  : — 

(a)  The  attraction  and  repulsion  which  the  palm  of 
the  hand  exercises  to  the  almost  total  exclusion 
of  the  back  of  the  hand  ; 
(^)  The  diverse  sensations  which  I  have  analysed ; 
(f)  The  influence  of  the  mental  condition  and  dis- 
positions of  the  experimenters  ; 
(j^)  Finally,  the  characteristic  fatigue  which  follows 
successful  seances,  fatigue  similar  to  that  which 
is  felt  after  prolonged  or  violent  exercise,  that 
is  to  say,  exercise  necessitating  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  nervous  force.      In  a  book, 
in  which  I  am  striving  to  exclude  all  manner 
of  theory,  treating,  moreover,  of  a  subject 
where  theoretical  hypotheses  are  premature, 
I  cannot  enlarge  any  further  upon  these  con- 
siderations.     I    must    content    myself    with 
pointing  them  out  to  the  attention  of  those, 
who  may  wish  to  experiment  in  their  turn. 
Telekinetic  movements  are  more  difficult  to  simulate 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      123 

than  levitations  of  the  table  with  contact.  By  operating 
in  daylight,  as  I  have  done,  and  with  jion-professional 
mediums,  there  is  every  kind  of  guarantee.  Besides, 
it  is  very  difficult  for  even  a  professional  medium  to 
trick  telekinetic  phenomena  in  full  light ;  he  must  be 
a  terribly  bad  observer,  who  lets  himself  be  taken  in 
under  test  conditions  of  light.  The  slightest  link 
between  the  medium  and  the  object  in  movement  is 
easily  perceptible,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  make  sure,  that 
no  such  link  exists.  I  recommend  experimenters  to 
force  themselves  to  direct  the  phenomena  towards  move- 
ments without  contact.  I  do  not  advise  them  even  to 
begin  with  levitations  with  contact,  for  it  is  a  manifesta- 
tion which  is  easily  simulated  ;  and  I  advise  persons  who 
are  not  accustomed  to  seances,  and  who  are  not  familiar 
with  fraudulent  processes,  to  seek  for  telekinetic  pheno- 
mena only.  They  are  longer  in  coming,  and  more 
difficult  to  obtain  ;  but  their  demonstration  will  make 
it  well  worth  while  taking  pains  to  realise  them,  and 
spending  time  to  wait  for  them.  When  we  work  in 
good  light,  when  we  can  pass  our  hands  in  every  direction 
round  the  article  of  experimentation,  when  we  operate 
with  articles  not  belonging  to  the  medium,  which  have  not 
been  in  his  possession  or  handled  by  him,  the  hypothesis 
of  fraud  is  inadmissible.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  honour- 
ability  and  good  faith  of  the  medium  :  these  are  important 
elements  of  appreciation.  But  my  principle  is  not  to  let 
these  considerations  have  any  weight,  when  judging  of  a 
paranormal  fact.  For,  if  the  observation  is  to  have  any 
serious  value,  every  one  ought  to  be  able  to  verify  the 
conditions,  under  which  that  observation  is  made. 

To  sum  up,  the  observations,  I  have  so  often  made 


124       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

with  diverse  mediums,  have  thoroughly  convinced  me 
of  the  reality  of  movements  without  contact.  I  believe 
I  have  verified  a  connection  between  them  and  the  or- 
ganism of  the  experimenters.  There  is  a  synergy  between 
their  movements  and  their  muscular  contractions  and  the 
forthcoming  paranormal  movements.  I  have  already 
spoken  of  this  coincidence  in  the  chapter  on  '  Raps.' 

There  is  this  difference,  however,  to  be  borne  in  mind,  I 
have  noticed  that,  within  a  certain  radius,  the  intensity  of 
the  raps  is  independent  of  the  proximity  of  the  medium. 
The  raps  heard  at  a  distance  of  ten  feet  appeared  to  me 
to  be  as  loud  as  those  which  resounded  near  him  or 
under  his  hands.  I  think  it  is  not  quite  the  same  with 
movements  without  contact.  I  believe  I  have  noticed, 
that  distance  exercises  a  certain  influence  over  the  latter. 
I  have  not  seen  any  movements  without  contact  at  a  greater 
distance  than  that  of  three  feet  from  the  medium,  save, 
perhaps,  the  movements  of  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet. 
I  have  observed  that  the  action  appeared  to  reach  its 
maximum  at  irregular  distances.  For  example,  I  have 
obtained  glidings  of  the  table  by  slowly  drawing  the 
hand  backwards  :  the  movements  occurred,  when  my 
fingers  were  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  away  from  the 
table,  and  not  when  they  were  closer  to  it.  Many 
circumstances  may  intervene  to  modify  the  action  of 
distance,  e.g.  the  possible  accumulation  of  force  at  the 
end  of  a  given  time. 

I  have  often  observed,  that  the  intentional  direction 
of  a  movement  executed  by  an  observer  influenced 
the  movement  of  the  table.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
ascertain  whether  the  determination  of  the  direction  of 
the  paranormal  movement  was  due  to  the  direction  of 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS      125 

the  movement  of  the  experimenter^s  hand,  or  to  the 
manifestation  of  his  will.  I  have  been  prevented  from 
solving  this  problem  by  the  fact,  that  when  the  energy- 
is  sufficient,  the  movements  will  occur  in  the  direction 
desired  by  the  assistants.  The  movements  seem  to  be 
produced  by  an  intelligent  being. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  this  curious  aspect  of 
things,  when  analysing  the  phenomenon  of  raps.  Tele- 
kinetic  movements  present  themselves  to  observation  in 
the  same  manner.  They  claim,  as  the  raps  do,  to  be  the 
manifestations  of  personifications.  I  related  an  obser- 
vation I  was  once  able  to  make  under  some  interesting 
circumstances ;  out  of  seance  hours,  in  broad  daylight, 
in  the  course  of  a  conversation  relative  to  a  certain  per- 
sonification, the  table  near  which  we  were  seated  glided 
of  its  own  accord  across  the  floor,  when  I  pronounced 
the  name  taken  by  the  personification.  A  conversation 
ensued  with  the  latter,  by  means  of  the  movements  of 
the  table  without  contact.  I  also  related  the  typto- 
logical  conversation  without  contact  which  I  had  with 
the  same  personification. 

These  personages  who  call  themselves  the  authors  of 
telekinetic  phenomena  present  the  same  characteristics, 
as  those  who  claim  to  be  responsible  for  the  pheno- 
menon of  raps.  I  have  nothing  in  particular  to  say  on 
this  point  at  present. 

The  observation  of  the  facts  resumed  in  this  chapter 
reveals  another  circumstance  which  deserves  pointing  out. 
This  is  the  apparent  conductibility  of  certain  bodies  for 
the  force  employed.  I  gave  some  examples  :  table-linen, 
wood,  dresses,  etc.  I  related  having  often  seen  women- 
mediums'   dresses    bulge   out  and    approach    the    table, 


126       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

when  the  phenomenon  was  being  produced  ;  the  sensi- 
tive's feet  remained  visible,  and,  in  view  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  I  have  been  able  to  test  this  pheno- 
menon, I  consider  as  absurd  the  idea  that  an  artificial 
hand  or  foot  was  introduced,  as  imagined  by  Dr. 
Hodgson  to  explain  away  this  fact  with  Eusapia.  I 
have  frequently  obtained  movements  without  the  contact 
of  the  medium's  dress,  but  I  have  certainly  noticed  that 
this  contact  facilitates  the  realisation  of  the  movement. 

Darkness  favours  it  also  ;  there  is  no  doubt  about  this. 
Of  course  I  am  putting  aside  the  greater  facilities 
obscurity  offers  for  the  execution  of  fraudulent  pheno- 
mena ;  and  though,  in  this  book,  I  have  only  taken  into 
account  phenomena  observed  in  full  light,  I  have  often 
experimented  in  obscurity  ;  and  it  appears  to  me  certain, 
that  total  darkness  is  one  of  the  conditions  for  the 
maximum  development  of  the  liberated  energy. 

The  action  of  light  is  interesting  to  note.  I  have 
already  stated  that  the  dynamic  agency  of  psychical 
phenomena  appeared  to  me  to  be  analogous  with  the 
nervous  influx,  and  that  the  table  seemed  to  play  the 
role  of  condenser.  In  that  hypothesis,  light  would  act 
like  certain  rays  of  cathodic  origin,  which  discharge  the 
electricised  condensers  placed  in  their  vicinity.  The 
study  of  the  influence  of  light  upon  telekinetic  pheno- 
mena will  certainly  enable  us  to  learn  their  cause.  The 
little  we  already  know  permits  us  to  suspect  that  the 
telenergic  force  ought  to  have  some  rapport  with  light  and 
electricity,  at  least  in  that  which  concerns  the  amplitude 
of  vibrations. 

The  study  of  this  rapport  can  only  be  taken  up 
by  an   experienced  physicist.     It   will   require    delicate 


PARAKINESIS  AND  TELEKINESIS     127 

methods  and  special  instruments,  and  I  earnestly  hope  it 
will  soon  be  seriously  undertaken. 

As  for  those  who  confine  themselves,  as  I  do,  to 
simply  seeking  whether  the  facts  be  real  or  not,  they 
should  avoid  working  in  obscurity.  Light  may  hamper 
the  production  of  telekinetic  movements,  but  it  will 
not  prevent  it.  Experimenters  should  accustom  them- 
selves to  holding  their  seances  in  the  daytime,  or  in  a 
light  which  is  sufficient  to  permit  of  reading  small  print. 
Above  all  things,  it  is  necessary  to  be  personally  con- 
vinced of  the  reality  of  the  facts  ;  and  this  conviction  is 
not  so  easily  acquired,  when  the  experiment  is  made  in 
obscurity. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  to  what  a  pitch  audacity  of 
certain  tricksters  will  carry  them.  I  once  attended  a 
series  of  experiments,  which  interested  me  greatly  from 
that  point  of  view.  The  group  included  three  young 
men,  one  of  whom  is  a  most  remarkable  medium. 
The  other  two,  intelligent  and  well-educated  young 
fellows,  appeared  to  me  to  have  some  medianic  faculties, 
but  I  withhold  my  judgment,  because  they  tried  so  hard 
to  cheat,  that  it  would  not  be  prudent  to  seriously 
notice  those  facts,  where  fraud  did  not  strike  me  as 
coming  into  play  ;  for  it  was  always  possible.  These 
young  men  had  nothing  to  gain  by  cheating  ;  in  any  case, 
I  have  not  yet  understood  what  aim  they  wished  to  attain. 
The  levitations  of  the  table  were  splendid — in  obscurity 
— and  all  the  furniture  in  the  seance-room  was  more  or 
less  jostled  about  and  displaced.  This  was  aU  very  fine  ; 
it  was  all  very  well  done  ;  and  novices  were  easily  taken 
in.  The  '  spirits '  caressed  or  struck  the  sitters,  and  I 
have  seen  sincere  but  inexperienced  persons  convinced 


128        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

of  the  reality  of  facts,  for  which  the  legerdemain  of  one 
of  the  young  men  present  was  alone  responsible. 

One  of  these  youths,  a  medical  student,  presents 
symptoms  of  nervous  troubles,  and  will  become  a 
hysteric  if  he  is  not  one  already.  Notwithstanding  my 
reproaches  and  exhortations,  he  could  not  stop  himself 
from  cheating  ;  and  I  have  the  impression  that  fraud 
is,  in  his  case,  almost  impulsive.  I  did  not  think  I 
was  authorised  to  examine  him  from  a  medical  point  of 
view,  but  I  observed  him  carefully.  He  has  manu- 
factured spirit  photographs  very  cleverly  ;  they  were 
wonderfully  well  done,  and  only  a  professional  eye 
would  detect  the  trick.  He  proceeded  by  double  ex- 
posure. 

With  this  group,  as  soon  as  the  room  was  lighted 
up,  the  phenomena,  which  were  so  violent  in  obscurity, 
ceased  almost  entirely.  This  circumstance  alone  was 
suspicious  ;  for  the  action  of  light  is  not  such  as  to 
constitute  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  production 
of  telekinetic  movements.  Whenever  phenomena  are 
intense  in  obscurity,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  obtain 
weaker  ones  of  the  same  kind  in  light.  This  is  a  rule 
without  an  exception,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes. 

Needless  to  add  that  the  table,  under  the  normal 
impetus  which  the  young  men  gave  it,  insisted  upon 
total  darkness.  Now,  in  truly  good  seances,  on  the 
contrary,  I  have  always  seen  the  table  ask  for  light,  if 
purely  motor  phenomena  were  desired.  Naturally,  it 
is  otherwise  with  luminous  phenomena,  of  which  I  am 
now  going  to  speak. 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  129 


CHAPTER     IV 

LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA 

The  curious  glimmering  lights,  which  I  am  going  to 
describe  in  this  chapter,  can  only  be  obtained  in  total 
obscurity.  They  are  generally  feeble,  and  appear  to  be 
at  the  limit  of  visibility. 

I  will  begin  by  describing  a  rather  curious  phenomenon, 
which  is  easily  observable.  I  am  not  quite  sure  of  its 
objective  reality  ;  nevertheless,  I  will  point  it  out,  and 
give  my  reasons  for  doing  so. 

Certain  hand-movements  are  necessary  to  bring  it 
into  evidence ;  we  must  proceed  in  the  following 
manner  : — 

1 .  Face  the  light. 

2.  Put  a  dark  object  with  a  mat  surface  between  your- 
self and  the  light.  Do  not  place  the  object  so  as  to 
screen  the  light  from  the  operators,  simply  place  it 
between  the  experimenters  and  the  Hght.  An  arm-chair 
covered  with  dark  velvet  will  suit  ;  place  it  so  that  its 
back  is  turned  to  the  light. 

3.  Open  the  hands,  put  them  against  the  dark  back- 
ground, palms  turned  towards  the  chest.  Join  the 
hands  at  the  finger-tips  ;  withdraw  the  hands  very  slowly, 
always  keeping  the  fingers  stretched  out. 

4.  Place  behind  you  the  person  with  whom  the  experi- 

I 


I30        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

ment  is  to  be  made,  his  head  on  a  level  with  the 
operator's  head,  that  is,  in  the  centre  of  the  plane  occu- 
pied by  the  hands. 

Under  these  conditions,  when  the  fingers  are  drawn 
apart,  seven  or  eight  out  of  ten  persons  will  see  a  sort  of 
grey  mist  uniting  the  tips  of  the  fingers.  The  person 
with  whom  we  are  experimenting  must  not  be  told  what 
he  is  expected  to  see  ;  the  experiment  would  be  vitiated 
by  introducing  therein  a  suggestive  or  imaginative 
element. 

Three-fourths  of  those  with  whom  I  have  experi- 
mented perceived  a  slight  mist,  passing  from  the  tip  of 
one  finger  to  another  or  corresponding  finger  on  the 
other  hand.  I  myself  perceive  this  mist  very  plainly  : 
to  me  it  resembles  cigarette  smoke  ;  it  has  the  same 
greyish  colour,  the  same  appearance,  but  much  more 
tenuity.  The  majority  of  people  see  it  in  this  way ;  but 
I  have  met  with  some,  who  fancied  it  a  different  colour. 
Those  who  see  the  efiluvium  as  coloured  are  generally 
gifted  with  psychic  faculties.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
come  to  any  positive  conclusions  on  this  point ;  but  I 
have  some  reasons  for  believing  that  the  coloured  per- 
ception of  what  I  call,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  '  digital 
effluvium/  indicates  a  highly  psychical  temperament.  A 
young  doctor,  who  has  remarkable  medianic  powers,  sees 
it  as  red.  I  also  found  two  persons  who  saw  it  as 
yellow.  I  have  many  reasons  for  thinking  that  one  of 
these  two  is  a  medium  ;  but  he  refuses  to  experiment, 
and  declares  a  priori  that  psychical  phenomena  are — to 
use  his  own  familiar  expression — all  'humbug.'  The 
other  person  is  an  eminent  magistrate.  I  have  found 
some  people  to  whom  the  digital  effluvium  appears  as 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  131 

blue.  On  the  whole,  from  the  experiments  I  have  made 
I  reckon  that  out  of  300  people  of  both  sexes,  240  to 
250  perceive  the  effluvium  ;  2  to  3  out  of  100  see  it  as 
blue.  I  have  found  two  who  saw  it  as  yellow  ;  and  one 
who  saw  it  as  red. 

I  did  not  remark  that  the  colour  of  the  effluvium  was 
different  from  one  hand  to  the  other  ;  but  in  reality  I 
did  not  question  much  on  the  subject,  as  I  was  most 
anxious  to  avoid  anything  like  suggestion.  I  have  never 
therefore  made  inquiries  upon  the  possible  difference  of 
coloration  in  the  two  hands ;  but  I  think  it  would  have 
been  pointed  out  to  me,  had  it  been  perceived. 

Generally  the  effluvium  appears  to  unite  the  tips  of 
the  fingers  of  each  hand.  But  it  is  not  always  so.  Often 
two  or  three  digital  effluvia  converge  into  one  of  the 
fingers  of  the  opposite  hand,  instead  of  uniting  the 
corresponding  fingers. 

I  noticed  that  the  meteorological  conditions  and  varia- 
tions of  temperature  had  a  decided  influence  upon  the 
visibility  of  the  effluvia.  When  the  seance-room  is  very 
cold,  or  when  the  weather  is  damp  or  rainy,  the  effluvia 
are  scarcely  perceptible.  They  appear  to  reach  a 
maximum  intensity  in  summer,  when  the  temperature  is 
high,  and  especially  when  the  air  is  sultry.  When  the 
weather  is  threatening  and  stormy,  the  effluvium  is  thick 
and  clearly  visible  to  me  ;  when  the  storm  has  burst,  and 
the  atmosphere  has  cleared,  its  intensity  diminishes. 

It  often  varies  according  to  the  individual.  Some 
people  give  forth  an  effluvium,  which  is  more  visible  than 
that  of  others.  I  have  not  been  able  to  seize  any  relation 
between  the  appearance  of  the  effluvium  and  the  sex,  age, 
and  temperament  of  the  various  persons  with  whom  I 


132        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

have  experimented  ;  on  the  contrary,  a  relation  seems  to 
exist  between  the  state  of  health  or  fatigue  and  the 
emission  of  this  mist ;  it  is  rarely  visible,  when  the 
person  who  emits  it  is  tired  or  ill. 

Such  are  the  principal  remarks,  which  observation  of 
this  curious  phenomenon  has  allowed  me  to  make.  I 
have  summed  them  up  carefully,  but  I  ought  to  say,  that 
to  me  the  reality  of  this  appearance  does  not  seem  to  be 
demonstrated.  After  all  it  may  only  be  due  to  an  effect 
of  contrast.  The  conditions  under  which  it  is  observed 
with  the  greatest  convenience  are  those,  where  the  hands 
stand  out  clearly  on  a  dark  background.  In  drawing  the 
hands  away  one  from  the  other,  the  image  of  the  fingers 
persists  perhaps  on  the  retina,  and  gives  rise,  maybe,  to 
an  illusion  ;  but  this  explanation  is  not  always  sufficient. 

There  is  an  optima  distance  for  the  realisation  of  this 
effluvium.  As  a  rule  the  effluvium  appears  denser  when 
the  fingers  are  fairly  close  together  ;  as  they  move  away 
the  density  diminishes  ;  it  becomes  thinner  and  more 
attenuated.  But  if  the  hands  cease  to  move,  the 
effluvium  disappears.  This  is  the  case  as  long  as  the 
tips  of  the  fingers  are  not  more  than  2  to  3  centimetres 
away.  If  the  movement  of  withdrawal  ceases  when  the 
finger-tips  are  within  10  to  15  centimetres  proximity,  the 
effluvium  remains  visible  for  a  longer  time.  This  is 
what  generally  happens,  but  the  facts  have  not  always 
the  same  regularity.  There  is,  in  psychical  phenomena, 
the  same  diversity  and  variability,  which  are  observed  in 
other  biological  phenomena. 

I  have  said  that  the  effluvium  persists  longer  and  is 
best  seen  when  the  finger-tips  of  each  hand  are  within 
10  centimetres  proximity.     Under  these  conditions,  the 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  133 

movement  of  separation  being  suspended,  the  slight 
mist,  which  I  described,  persists  several  seconds.  Some- 
times the  effluvium  is  clearly  visible,  when  the  fingers  are 
25  to  30  centimetres  apart. 

I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  this  effluvium  is  not 
altogether  an  imaginary  phenomenon.  It  seems  to  me 
to  exclude,  at  least,  the  hypothesis  of  the  persistence  of 
the  retinal  image  ;  for  the  false  image  does  not  last  so 
long  as  the  effluvium,  under  the  conditions  mentioned 
by  me. 

There  is  yet  another  explanation.  This  is  that  the 
eye  automatically  prolongs  the  clear  impression  of  the 
fingers  on  the  dark  background  separating  them.  This 
would  be  analogous  to  the  expansion  by  irradiation  of 
clear  images  upon  a  dark  background. 

Other  reasons,  however,  make  me  discard  this  hypo- 
thesis. In  the  first  place,  why  do  some  people  see  the 
supposed  false  image  vividly  coloured  and  not  white  .'^ 
Secondly,  if  the  phenomenon  is  of  retinal  origin,  why — 
instead  of  being  thinner,  as  is  the  case — does  not  the 
image  reproduce  the  form  of  the  finger  ^  Why  is  it  a 
blue-grey  colour  and  not  black,  as  should  be  the  com- 
plimentary image  of  a  finger  which  appears  to  be 
white  ? 

Why  is  not  the  phenomenon  produced  with  certain 
objects  coloured  in  white  .^  In  vain  might  we  experi- 
ment with  them  as  with  the  hands  ;  they  would  never 
leave  effluvium  between  them.  There  is  an  exception, 
however  :  if  we  hold  cotton  or  wood  in  the  hands,  we 
will  often  perceive  this  appearance  of  effluvium.  It  is  not 
obtained,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  with  metal 
objects.     From  this,  it  may  be  inferred,  though  I  do  not 


134        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

affirm  it,  as  my  experiments  are  not  sufficiently  con- 
clusive— that  wood  and  cotton  conduct  the  effluvium  as 
well  as  flesh.  This  seems  to  me  very  probable  with 
cotton  ;  by  holding  a  crumpled  handkerchief  in  the 
hand,  and  presenting  it  to  the  background  as  I  have 
recommended  doing  with  the  fingers,  we  will  notice  a 
slight  mist  round  the  cotton,  which  seems  to  soften  off 
the  outlines. 

Finally,  another  more  serious  reason  for  considering 
these  effluvia  as  probably  objective,  is  the  frequent 
absence  of  parallelism  between  the  effluvia  of  corre- 
sponding fingers.  I  have  often  observed  distinct  diver- 
gencies, and  it  sometimes  struck  me  as  though  the  will 
might  be  able  to  influence  the  direction  of  the  effluvia  to 
a  certain  extent.  It  often  happens  that  all  the  experi- 
menters see  the  effluvia  under  the  same  aspect.  The 
phenomenon  can  show  great  variability  in  appearance,  the 
middle  finger  of  one  hand,  for  example,  becoming  con- 
nected with  two,  three,  or  four  fingers  of  the  opposite 
one. 

As  the  aspect  of  this  effluvium  usually  appears  the 
same  to  the  observers,  there  is  room  to  presume  that  its 
existence  and  direction  are  not  illusory  phenomena.  In 
the  contrary  case,  we  would  have  to  suppose  collective 
hallucination,  or  a  most  improbable  transmission  of 
impression,  which  my  personal  observations  do  not 
dispose  me  to  admit. 

The  phenomenon,  which  I  have  called  '  visibility  of  the 
digital  effluvium  '  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  is  very 
easy  to  observe.  I  make  great  reserves  on  its  objectivity, 
although  I  think  its  reality  is  more  probable  than  its 
non-existence.       It   is   most   desirable    that    competent 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  135 

experimenters  should  verify  these  observations,  which  I 
only  present  as  uncertain. 

I  would  have  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  phenomenon,  if 
the  accounts  of  the  persons  with  whom  I  experimented 
had  always  concorded  as  to  the  direction  taken  by  the 
effluvia  ;  but  it  was  not  so.  Though  there  is  a  good 
proportion  of  corroboration,  I  have  often  observed 
contradictions  in  the  descriptions  which  were  given  me. 

Although  the  digital  effluvium  does  not  yet  appear  to 
me  to  be  demonstrated,  I  think  it  will  be  interesting  to 
point  out  the  analogies  it  presents  with  phenomena  already 
mentioned  by  diverse  experimenters,  notably  by  Reichen- 
bach  and  de  Rochas.    These  two  experimenters  operated 
under  very  different  conditions  to  mine.    The  one  placed 
his  sensitive  in  profound  obscurity  and  left  him  there 
for  a  time  ;  then  he   made  him   look  at   living  beings, 
flowers,  magnets,  ends  of  cords,  and  metal  wires,  opposite 
ends  of  which  were  in  the  sun  ;  his  sensitives  generally 
saw — especially  with  human  hands,  crystals,  and  magnetic 
poles — a  kind  of  flame   or  luminous   mist  surrounding 
them,  or  issuing  from  them.     Rochas  has  chiefly  experi- 
mented with  sensitives  plunged  in  deep  sleep ;  every  one 
has  read  of  his  experiments, — the  blue  and  red  coloration 
which  his  sensitives  gave  to  the  gleams  of  light  which  are 
emitted  by  magnetic  poles,  and  the  right  and  left  sides  of 
the  body.      My  conditions  of  experimentation  were  very 
difl^erent  from  those  under  which  Reichenbach  and  Rochas 
worked.     I  took  the  first  comer  and  operated  in  broad 
daylight.     But  my  observations  tend  to  confirm  theirs, 
at  least  in  what  concerns  the  radiation  of  something  at 
the  finger-tips. 

Another  interesting  observation  remains  to   be  made. 


136        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

I  have  shown  that  very  probably  linen,  and  perhaps  wood 
also,  were  easily  impregnated  with  that  substance  of 
which  the  effluvium  is  constituted.  This  fact  may  be 
compared  with  those  I  pointed  out,  when  dealing  with 
telekinetic  movements  :  particularly  the  approach  of  a 
small  table  which  touched  the  cloth  of  the  table  at  which 
I  was  breakfasting  ;  the  approach  of  the  chair  which  was 
touched  by  a  wooden  newspaper-holder  lying  on  the 
table  ;  and  lastly,  the  curious  bulging  out  of  mediums' 
dresses,  which  grazed  the  feet  of  the  table  in  some  cases 
of  telekinesis.  Without  forming  any  premature  hypo- 
thesis, it  is  allowable  to  look  upon  the  digital  effluvium 
as  having  some  connection  with  the  force,  which  is  the 
determining  cause  of  movements  without  contact. 

The  effluvium  is  visible  under  other  conditions,  which 
are  worth  noting.  It  can  be  seen,  when  passes  are  made 
over  a  person  or  an  object.  The  appearance  is  again 
similar  to  snioke  ;  it  is  a  bluish-grey  mist,  which  seems  to 
form  prolongations  of  the  fingers. 

The  effluvium  is  not  a  luminous  phenomenon.  I  have 
described  it  in  order  to  be  complete,  and  not  to  omit  a 
fact  which  is  interesting  for  more  than  one  reason.  It 
can,  moreover,  be  seen  by  certain  subjects  in  the  dark. 
Here  is  an  interesting  experiment,  which  I  have  some- 
times realised,  but  which  presents  certain  difficulties. 

One  of  the  mediums,  with  whom  I  experimented, 
appeared  to  have  an  exceptional  acuteness  of  vision  in 
reference  to  the  effluvium.  He  saw  it  escape  from  the 
hands  of  the  sitters,  and  spread  itself  over  the  seance- 
table.  Desirous  of  finding  out  what  the  medium  would 
see  in  total  darkness,  I  put  out  all  the  lights,  and  invited 
the  medium  to  touch  my  hand  if  he  saw  it.    The  experi- 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  137 

ment  did  not  succeed  every  time,  but  the  proportion  of 
success  was  superior  to  probabilities  ;  but  as  the  medium 
might  have  been  able  to  guide  himself  by  the  sense  of 
hearing,  I  thought  of  testing  him  by  touching  the  table. 
The  sensitive  quickly  recognised  the  finger-tips,  claiming 
to  perceive  a  kind  of  milky  phosphorescence  at  the  spot 
where  my  finger  was.  To  make  doubly  sure  I  tested  him 
still  further  by  tracing  letters  on  the  table  with  the  tip  of 
my  forefinger,  taking  the  precaution  to  avoid  all  sound. 
The  medium  read  nearly  all  the  letters  drawn.  I  then 
traced  some  words  ;  he  read  them  off  also.  I  was  able 
to  make  him  read  words  of  five  letters  ;  he  was  not 
able  to  read  longer  words,  he  recognised  the  last  letters, 
but  declared  that  the  first  were  blotted  out.  Nearly  all 
the  words  of  three  or  four  letters  were  read  correctly, 
and  the  errors  were  often  significant  :  e.g.  the  word 
'  foi '  became  *  loi.*  Now,  in  a  running  hand-writ- 
ing, it  suffices  to  suppress  the  lower  part  of  the  *  f  *  for 
the  letter  thus  amputated  to  take  the  aspect  of  an  '  1.' 
I  cannot  say  if  the  sensitive  really  saw  what  he  claimed 
to  see,  or  if  he  were  guided  by  the  sound  of  my  finger. 
I  am  obliged  to  trust  to  his  sincerity  on  this  point  ;  but 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  medium  is  sincere  and 
honourable.  He  is  a  man  of  education,  and  is  not  a 
professional  medium  ;  he  follows  a  liberal  profession, 
and  does  not  wish  his  name  to  be  mentioned.  I  have 
much  esteem  for  him.  On  the  other  hand,  his  senses 
would  need  to  have  been  extraordinarily  developed,  to 
have  enabled  him  to  recognise  the  movement  of  my 
finger  from  the  very  slight  sound  it  may  have  made.  No 
sound  was  perceptible  to  myself.  I  wrote  on  a  small 
varnished  table  of  blackwood,  on  which  my  finger  glided 


138        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

easily  and  silently.  Again,  the  errors  made  now  and 
then — by  reading  *  loi '  for  *  foi/  etc.,  seem  to  prove  that 
the  sense  of  sight  and  not  sound  was  in  operation. 

Sometimes  it  happens,  that  it  is  no  longer  the  effluvium 
which  is  perceived,  but  the  whole  hand  itself  becomes 
phosphorescent.  Rays  come  and  go  like  gleams  on  the 
back  of  the  hands,  or  on  the  fingers,  and  sometimes,  but 
very  rarely,  on  the  face  or  body  of  the  sitters.  These 
phosphorescences  and  the  digital  effluvia  appear  to  me  to 
belong  to  the  same  order  of  phenomena.  Frequently, 
they  are  but  fleeting  gleams  seen  at  the  finger-tips,  when 
the  hands  are  resting  on  the  table.  Though  I  and  others 
who  have  experimented  with  me,  have  often  verified  this 
appearance,  I  have  some  doubts  upon  its  reality.  In 
obscurity,  the  eye  tires  quickly,  and  phosphenes  soon 
appear ;  still,  I  have  nearly  always  observed,  that  these 
glimmering  lights  were  perceived  by  other  persons  in  the 
same  spot  I  saw  them  in. 

I  have  rarely  observed  those  glimmering  lights,  some 
people  see,  on  the  garments  and  faces  of  sitters. 

I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  verify,  in  a  positive 
manner,  the  phosphorescence  of  the  hands  in  ordinary 
seances ;  though  observers  in  whom  I  have  the  greatest 
confidence,  have  assured  me  that  they  had  remarked  it. 
We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  eyes  tire 
quickly  ;  when  the  obscurity  is  not  complete,  the  white 
hands  are  vaguely  perceived  on  the  dark  background,  the 
eyes,  growing  tired,  accentuate  the  contrast  between  the 
two  shades,  and  the  palest  has  a  tendency  to  appear 
slightly  luminous. 

Sometimes,  but  very  seldom,  I  have  observed  sparks 
which  seemed  to   coincide  with  raps.     This  phenomena 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  139 

appears  to  have  an  objective  reality.  I  was  not  the  only- 
one  to  notice  these  sparks  ;  others  saw  them  also ;  their 
apparition  at  the  moment  the  raps  were  heard  was 
constant.  These  circumstances  permitted  us  to  think,  that 
the  phenomenon  ought  to  have  an  objective  substratum 
of  some  kind. 

However,  I  have  observed  luminous  phenomena  which 
were  decidedly  objective.  At  Choisy,  we  obtained  them 
under  special  conditions,  which  Rochas  has  indicated, 
and  which  are  rather  significative.  These  lights,  which 
were  very  brilliant,  looked  like  large  phosphorescent 
drops  gliding  about  on  Eusapia's  bodice,  after  having 
floated  for  some  time  in  the  air.  This  phenomenon  did 
not  appear  to  me  to  be  very  convincing,  because  during 
the  sitting,  a  strong  odour  of  phosphorus  permeated  the 
room.  When  Eusapia  had  left,  I  returned  to  the  room, 
where  I  found  MM.  de  Gramont  and  de  Watte ville, 
who  were  as  inquisitive  as  I  was.  We  searched  but 
found  nothing  on  the  floor. 

Our  suspicions  had  been  aroused  by  the  phosphores- 
cent odour,  which  was  diffused  in  the  room.  Since  then, 
I  have  noticed  it  in  seances,  where  fraud  seemed  to  be 
impossible.  This  odour  is  characteristic ;  it  is  more 
like  the  odour  of  ozone  than  that  of  phosphorus.  It 
is  like  the  odour  perceptible  in  the  vicinity  of  static 
electrical  machines  when  in  activity. 

These  flitting  lights  can  be  easily  imitated.  A 
prudent  experimenter  ought  never  to  lose  sight  of  the 
fact,  that  it  is  possible  to  employ  diverse  substances  in 
order  to  produce  phosphorescent  effects.  The  use  of 
phosphorescent  oil,  for  example,  will  give  fictitious 
luminous  phenomena.     I   remember  a  seance  at  which 


I40       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  medical  student,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken, 
was  present.  I  noticed  that  one  of  his  finger-tips  shone 
for  a  moment.  I  afterwards  learnt,  that  this  young  man 
had  a  phial  of  phosphorescent  oil  in  one  of  his  pockets. 
On  another  occasion,  long  narrow  lights  were,  from 
time  to  time,  seen  on  his  body.  I  think  these  were 
produced  by  matches  or  straws  dipped  in  the  luminous 
liquid.  Phosphorescent  preparations,  as  a  rule,  have 
the  advantage  of  only  becoming  very  luminous,  when 
they  are  shaken  about  in  the  air  ;  for  the  lights,  which 
are  given  forth  by  the  phosphorus  they  contain,  are 
only  produced  when  there  are  phenomena  of  oxydation. 

Objects  coated  over  with  sulphide  of  calcium,  stron- 
tium, or  baryum,  become  luminous  in  obscurity,  when 
they  have  been  previously  exposed  to  light.  This  is 
the  principle  of  luminous  dials,  match-boxes  and  candle- 
sticks. There  are  also  other  substances  which  permit 
of  simulating  luminous  phenomena. 

I  was  once  present  at  some  seances,  which  were 
very  curious  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  luminous 
phenomena  which  I  observed.  These  seances  were  of 
the  series  of  which  I  have  already  spoken.  The  two 
young  tricksters,  some  of  whose  misdeeds  I  have 
related,  were  present,  and  as  one  of  them  is  an  excellent 
chemist,  it  is  possible  that  the  superb  phenomena  I 
observed  were  not  altogether  authentic.  I  confess,  I 
do  not  see  how  fraud  was  committed  ;  but,  given  the 
conditions  under  which  I  experimented,  I  think  I  ought 
to  abstain  from  expressing  a  favourable  opinion  upon 
the  reality  of  the  facts  observed.  I  will  describe  them 
succinctly,  indicating  the  phenomena  which  could  have 
been  simulated,  and  those  which  did  not  appear  to  be  so. 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  141 

The  medium  is  a  young  man  of  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  of  good  family,  and  fairly  well-educated.  He  has 
been  well  brought  up,  and  his  manners  are  good.  He 
is  a  commercial  clerk.  He  is  a  tall,  strong,  well-built 
young  man,  apparently  in  robust  health.  He  is  in- 
telligent, but  does  not  strike  me  as  having  a  very  strong 
will.  He  is  easily  influenced  by  his  comrades,  and  was 
particularly  so  by  the  medical  student  whose  irrepressible 
tendency  to  cheating  I  have  already  spoken  about.  The 
student  had  a  great  ascendency  over  the  medium,  and, 
in  spite  of  my  advice,  induced  him  to  experiment  too 
frequently,  almost  daily.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  the 
result  :  the  imprudent  student  and  medium  both  pre- 
sented visible  nervous  troubles  at  the  end  of  a  few 
weeks.  The  seances  were  held  in  the  evening  with  a 
round  table  which  had  a  double  top  ;  they  began  in  the 
light,  but,  in  obedience  to  the  behests  of  the  table,  total 
obscurity  was  speedily  obtained.  I  have  always  thought 
that  obscurity  was  asked  for  by  one  of  the  two  tricksters, 
who  was  then  able  to  give  himself  up  to  his  heart's  delight, 
and  do  as  he  pleased  with  his  confiding  group.  They 
had  invited  some  of  their  friends — students  or  doctors — 
and  I  was  extremely  sorry  for  these  new-comers,  in  that 
they  should  have  been  present  at  such  suspicious  seances. 

To  be  quite  exact,  I  ought  to  say  that,  though  I  was 
convinced  these  young  men  frauded,  I  was  not  always 
able  to  bring  it  home  to  them.  I  generally  seated  myself 
beside  the  most  turbulent  of  the  two  young  men,  and 
the  hand  which  I  held  never  once  left  mine.  But  the 
other  hand  and  the  other  trickster  had  more  liberty, 
and  some  of  my  co-experimenters  verified  fraud. 

Moreover,  I  suspected  fraud,  because  of  the  appear- 


142        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

ance  of  the  phenomena,  which  were  of  an  extremely 
rough  character.  The  table,  raised  from  the  floor, 
was  at  times  thrown  against  the  observers  with  so  much 
force,  that  they  have  occasionally  been  seriously  hurt. 
This  never  happens  with  true  phenomena.  The  thin 
top  of  the  table  was  broken  ;  a  '  phenomenon '  which 
was  caused  by  exaggerated  pressure  or  violent  blows 
destined  to  imitate  loud  raps.  Real  raps  never  break 
a  table  ;  its  feet  are  sometimes  demolished,  when  the 
levitated  table  falls  abruptly,  but  this  is  the  only  damage 
I  have  ever  observed  at  serious  seances. 

Notwithstanding  the  more  than  suspicious  conditions 
under  which  we  operated,  I  am  not  sure  that  all  the 
phenomena  were  simulated.  In  these  seances,  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  mixture  of  much  that  was  false 
with  a  little  that  was  true.  A  longer  observation  would 
have  permitted  me  to  come  to  a  more  definite  conclusion, 
but  the  seances  were  discontinued. 

Of  the  phenomena,  the  authenticity  of  which  appeared 
probable  to  me^  I  will  mention  raps.  Many  of  them 
were  obtained  in  the  light  and  without  apparent  contact ; 
they  had  all  the  aspect  of  the  authentic  raps  I  have  so 
frequently  observed.  But  owing  to  insufficient  control, 
I  do  not  feel  able  to  affirm  their  reality. 

As  for  luminous  phenomena,  I  cannot  help  wonder- 
ing how  some  of  them  could  have  been  simulated.  In 
order  to  give  a  precise  physiognomy  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  were  observed,  I  will  briefly  relate  one 
of  the  most  curious  seances  of  the  series. 

There  were  about  a  dozen  persons  present.  Five  or 
six  sat  down  to  the  table,  and  raps  were  obtained,  now  on 
the  table,  now  on  the  floor.     Obscurity  was  asked  for  and 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  143 

gradually  given.  The  phenomena  Increased  in  intensity 
as  the  darkness  deepened.  When  we  could  no  longer 
see,  the  usual  levitations,  violent  knocking,  and  dis- 
placement of  furniture  had  their  own  way.  The  seance 
was  discontinued  for  a  few  minutes,  and  resumed  towards 
eleven  o'clock.  The  table  requested  that  the  medium 
might  be  placed  in  the  cabinet,  which  was  in  a  corner 
of  the  room,  and  made  of  white  curtains.  The  medium 
was  placed  as'  requested.  The  table  then  asked  the 
experimenters  to  withdraw  from  the  vicinity  of  the 
cabinet ;  when  giving  these  directions,  the  table  appeared 
to  strike  the  floor  of  its  own  accord.  It  told  us  to  seat 
ourselves  at  a  distance  of  6  feet  from  the  cabinet,  and 
then  asked  us  to  sing.  We  droned  out  the  air,  '  Fr^re 
Jacques,  dormez-vous  ?  '  At  the  end  of  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  milky-looking  phosphorescent  lights  were  seen 
on  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet ;  then  luminous  hands 
appeared.  One  very  luminous  hand  rose  rapidly  outside 
the  curtains  and  seized  a  bell,  which  had  been  hooked 
on  to  a  nail  at  about  7  feet  6  inches  above  the  floor. 
This  hand  was  visible  to  every  one. 

Then  the  milky-lights  were  again  seen,  larger  and 
more  brilliant  than  before.  One  of  these  lights,  the 
oudines  of  which  were  very  indistinct,  floated  about  the 
room,  and  withdrew  to  about  9  feet  from  the  cabinet, 
along  the  wall  opposite  the  one  near  which  the  experi- 
menters were  grouped.  This  light  appeared  to  be  4 
feet  above  the  ground  ;  it  was  about  3  feet  high  by 
10  inches  broad,  and  appeared  to  float  in  the  air.  It 
remained  visible  for  several  seconds. 

Afterwards,  other  lights  were  seen  near  the  curtains ; 
finally,  one  extremely  brilliant  light  appeared  above  the 


144        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

curtains  near  the  ceiling.  This  light  was  about  i  foot 
6  inches  high  by  i  foot  2  inches  wide.  The  outlines  of 
this  luminosity  were  more  clearly  defined  than  those  of 
the  light  which  floated  about  the  room. 

These  phenomena  were  clearly  visible  to  every  one. 
Some  of  the  experimenters  thought  they  could  see 
shadowy  forms  in  these  lights.  As  for  me,  I  could 
distinguish  no  human  appearance  therein.  The  first 
light  I  described  gave  me  the  impression  of  a  luminous 
pillar  ;  the  second,  whose  outlines  were  better  defined, 
awakened  no  idea  of  any  definite  form.  We  ceased 
experimenting  shordy  after  this  seance. 

Were  they  genuine,  these  phenomena  ?  I  am  not 
sure,  but  I  cannot  help  wondering  how  they  could  have 
been  simulated  !  There  are  some  distinctions  to  be 
made  between  these  appearances,  of  which  I  have  only 
described  the  principal.  The  luminous  hand,  which 
unhooked  the  bell,  was  well  defined  :  it  was  very  distinct 
and  one  mass  of  light.  I  quite  understand  that  suspicion 
might  fall  on  the  medium ;  he  might  have  covered  his 
own  hand  with  some  phosphorescent  substance,  and, 
thanks  to  his  height,  unhooked  the  bell  himself.  Let 
us  try  to  find  out  what  substance  he  could  have  used. 
We  must,  I  think,  put  aside  the  idea  of  phosphorescent 
oil.  This  would  have  left  traces  on  the  medium's  hands 
and  clothes,  on  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet,  on  the  bell, 
on  the  wall  where  the  bell  was  hung.  Now  there  was 
nothing  of  the  sort.  The  medium's  hands  and  garments 
bore  no  trace  whatsoever  of  oil.  Besides,  the  light  which 
is  given  forth  by  preparations  which  have  phosphorus  as 
their  basis,  has  neither  the  duration,  nor  the  uniformity 
of  the  lights  I  observed. 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  145 

Is  it  a  preparation  with  a  basis  of  sulphides  of  the 
calcium  class  ?  Sulphides,  in  order  to  be  phos- 
phorescent, ought  to  be  in  a  dry  state.  They  are 
usually  reduced  to  a  powder,  and  this  powder  is 
pasted  on  to  the  substance  we  wish  to  render  luminous. 
The  appearance  of  a  hand  might  be  given  by  a  glove 
done  over  with  sulphide  of  strontium  or  calcium.  But 
I  need  not  say  how  difficult  it  would  be  to  put  on  this 
glove.  True,  the  glove  could  be  stuffed  with  horse- 
hair, dipped  in  paste  and  sprinkled  over  with  sulphide  in 
the  desired  position.  The  phenomenon  which  I  observed, 
could  then  be  explained  in  the  following  manner :  The 
medium  might  have  moved  the  luminous  glove  about 
with  one  hand,  and  unhooked  the  bell  with  the  other. 
This  is  possible,  and  yet  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to 
explain  what  I  saw. 

In  any  case,  this  explanation  ceases  to  be  satisfactory, 
when  we  consider  the  case  of  the  floating  lights.  I  know 
of  no  system  which  allows  of  imitating  the  immaterial, 
fugitive,  diaphanous  appearance  of  these  curious  lights. 
My  chemical  knowledge,  it  is  true,  is  very  rudimentary  ; 
and  one  of  the  young  men  I  speak  of  is  a  clever 
chemist ;  it  may  be  he  knows  of  a  more  perfect  process 
than  those  just  mentioned.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  to 
me  that  a  piece  of  cloth  done  over  with  some  luminous 
preparation  or  other,  would  not  have  the  aspect  of  the 
light  which  I  saw  floating  about  the  room.  I  think  it  is 
very  difficult  to  reproduce  these  vague,  ill-defined  lights, 
which  are  more  like  a  luminous  cloud  than  a  phos- 
phorescent material  object. 

The  outlines  of  the  last  appearance  I  described  were 
well  defined,  and  in  its  upper  part  reminded  one  of  the 

K 


146       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

folds  of  material.  Some  of  my  co  -  experimenters 
thought  they  recognised  a  masculine,  bearded  head 
therein,  covered  with  a  turban  or  burnoose.  If  we  had 
been  in  the  presence  of  an  artificial  phenomenon,  the 
luminous  object  should  have  presented  the  same  aspect 
to  every  observer.  It  was  not  so  in  reality  ;  for  some 
of  us  could  distinguish  no  recognisable  form  in  the 
luminosity.  I  know  that  the  imagination  can  be  the 
cause  of  much  visual  illusion.  It  makes  us  complete 
imperfect  images,  and  see  faces  and  forms  in  plays  of 
light  and  shade  which  only  faintly  recall  these  forms  and 
faces.  I  have  not  observed  the  curious  phenomena 
which  I  describe,  under  conditions  sufficiently  precise  to 
enable  me  to  affirm  their  objectivity,  and  I  can  only 
repeat  what  I  said  just  now,  that  their  reality  appeared 
probable  to  me,  in  spite  of  the  frauds  of  which  I  knew, 
and  those  which  I  suspected  ;  in  spite  of  my  intellect's 
prejudice,  I  was  favourably  impressed. 

I  will  add  that  the  luminosity,  which  floated  about  the 
room,  moved  about  up  and  down,  and  lasted  for  several 
seconds.  That  part  of  the  room  where  it  floated  about 
was  blocked  up  with  the  table,  chairs  and  other  furniture, 
which  had  been  taken  there  from  the  recess  adjoining 
the  seance-room.  All  the  experimenters  were  grouped 
together  in  one  part  of  the  room.  None  of  them  left 
their  seats  during  the  production  of  these  phenomena. 
Had  the  medium  left  the  cabinet  and  manoeuvred  the 
light  we  perceived,  he  would  have  knocked  against  the 
scattered  furniture.  We  kept  the  strictest  silence,  when 
luminous  phenomena  were  being  produced,  and  we 
would  certainly  have  heard  the  medium  moving  about, 
had  he  left  the  cabinet.     Now,  we  heard  no  noise  what- 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  147 

soever ;  neither  of  the  footsteps  he  would  have  been 
obliged  to  make,  nor  of  the  furniture  which  he  would 
have  knocked  against,  unless  he  be  able  to  see  remark- 
ably well  in  the  dark. 

Such  are  the  observations  I  have  to  present  upon  this 
curious  seance.  One  of  my  friends,  an  eminent  savant, 
well  acquainted  with  this  kind  of  phenomena,  had,  like 
myself,  the  impression  that  those  I  have  depicted  were 
real. 

Moreover,  in  other  seances  this  medium  gave  us 
similar  luminosities.  I  will  even  point  out  that  one 
of  the  suspected  sitters  —  the  medical  student  —  the 
clever  chemist — having  been  eliminated,  and  the  experi- 
ments taking  place  at  the  house  of  one  of  my  medical 
friends,  we  observed  globular  lights  on  the  curtains  of 
the  cabinet  behind  which  the  medium  was  sitting.  These 
lights  were  much  smaller  than  those  I  have  just  described 
— they  were  as  large  as  a  walnut — but  were  easily 
observable. 

I  hope  to  be  able  to  resume  my  experiments  with  this 
medium  ;  for  to  me  he  seems  to  be  one  of  the  most 
powerful  I  have  ever  seen.  It  is  really  a  pity  he  should 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  imprudent  and  ignorant 
young  men ;  they  have  abused  his  force,  worn  him  out, 
and  made  him  ill.  Judiciously  handled,  he  might  have 
become  extraordinary.  It  remains  to  be  seen,  if  the  bad 
conditions  under  which  he  has  been  developed  have  not 
had  the  effect  of  destroying  the  rare  faculty  he  possessed. 
I  will  return  to  these  considerations  later  on. 

The  lights  produced  by  this  young  man  were  the  most 
brilliant  I  have  ever  seen.  Their  colour  has  been  well 
compared  to  the  light  of  the  nebula  by  one  of  my  co- 


148        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

experimenters,  a  distinguished  amateur  astronomer. 
This  experimenter  had  a  good  spectroscope,  but  he  has 
never  been  able  to  succeed  in  analysing,  spectro- 
scopically,  the  lights  we  have  seen.  They  were  too 
unsteady  and  fugitive. 

I  now  come  to  some  visual  phenomena,  which  have 
not  the  same  luminous  feature  as  those  I  have  been 
speaking  about,  but  which  present  another  very  curious 
feature  :  they  give  representations  of  objects  or  of  human 
forms. 

I  have  not  seen  any  phosphorescent  human  forms  such 
as  certain  observers  affirm  to  have  seen.  I  have  said  that 
the  Bordeaux  medium,  in  presence  of  whom  I  had  seen 
such  fine  luminous  phenomena,  had  also  given  us  a 
luminous  hand.  At  Choisy  in  1896,  I  saw  the  same 
thing  with  Eusapia.  There  was  enough  light  in  the 
room  to  see  Eusapia's  hands.  Under  these  conditions — 
the  hands  of  the  medium  being  not  only  held  by  her 
right-  and  left-hand  neighbours,  but  visible  all  the  time  on 
the  table — we  perceived  at  about  i  foot  9  inches  above 
Eusapia's  head  a  slightly  phosphorescent  hand,  which 
shook  about  in  the  opening  between  the  two  curtains. 
This  appearance  was  very  distinct,  and  was  perceived  by 
all  those  whose  positions  allowed  them  to  see  it. 

This  was  not  the  first  time  I  had  seen  the  form  of  a 
hand.  In  1895,  at  FAgnelas,  I  saw  a  hand  and  bare 
forearm,  which  showed  itself  in  profile  above  M. 
Sabatier,  seated  in  front  of  me,  and  touched  him  on  the 
forehead.  At  the  same  moment,  M.  Sabatier  mentioned 
having  been  touched  on  the  head.  My  perception  was 
clear  and  decided  ;  I  was  positive  of  having  seen  this 
hand   and   forearm.     I    remember   that   my  co-experi- 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  149 

menters — two  of  them  at  least — hesitated  to  admit  my 
observation,  because  I  had  been  the  only  one  to  see  it. 
In  1895, 1  was  not  so  accustomed  to  seances  as  I  became 
later  on,  and  I  was  inclined  to  listen  with  deference  to 
my  friends'  remarks,  but  I  was  so  positive  of  the  reality 
of  my  observation,  that  it  was  inserted  in  the  report. 
Subsequent  experience  has  multiplied  observations  of 
this  order  :  they  recall  to  mind  the  round  head  seen  at 
Carqueiranne.  The  hand  and  forearm  which  I  saw  at 
TAgnelas  were  black  and  opaque.  They  were  projected 
on  to  the  clear  background  of  the  room  where  we 
experimented  ;  we  were  seated  in  such  a  way  that  only 
I  could  see  them. 

I  did  not  see  anything  quite  like  this  in  1896;  for,  it 
will  be  remembered  that  the  hand  we  saw  at  Choisy 
was  slightly  phosphorescent,  and  presented  quite  a  different 
appearance  to  the  dark,  solid-looking  arm  and  hand  which 
I  saw  at  TAgnelas.  I  remember  one  day  at  Choisy,  when 
M.  de  Gramont  was  in  the  cabinet  behind  Eusapia,  the 
latter  told  us  to  blow  hard.  At  the  same  moment, 
M.  de  Gramont  saw  the  shape  of  a  pair  of  bellows. 

At  Bordeaux,  in  1897,  ^^  again  saw  black,  opaque 
forms  under  excellent  conditions.  A  few  extracts  from 
the  reports  of  these  seances  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 
I  refer  my  readers  to  this  for  the  detail  of  the  material 
conditions  under  which  we  operated.  I  will  simply  indi- 
cate here  that  the  room,  in  which  we  held  our  seances, 
is  lighted  up  by  a  very  large  bay-window.  The  persian 
shutters  were  closed  for  the  seances  ;  but  the  gas-light, 
from  the  kitchen  premises,  was  reflected  through  the 
Persians  on  to  the  window-panes,  and  cast  a  faint  light  in 
the  seance-room.     In  consequence  of  this  reflection  on 


I50        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  panes,  the  window  formed  a  kind  of  clear  back- 
ground, upon  which  the  silhouettes  of  certain  black 
forms  could  be  seen  by  at  least  half  of  the  experimenters. 

We  all  saw  these  forms,  or  rather  the  form  ;  for  it 
was  always  the  same  form  which  was  shown,  the  profile 
of  a  long  bearded  face  with  a  strongly  arched  nose. 
This  appearance  is  said  to  be  the  head  of  *  John,'  Eusapia*s 
habitual  personification.  It  is  an  extraordinary  pheno- 
menon ;  and  the  first  idea  which  presents  itself  to  the 
mind  is  that  of  a  collective  hallucination.  But  then  it 
remains  to  be  asked,  why  it  was  manifested  under  the  very 
special  conditions  I  have  indicated.  Moreover,  the  care 
with  which  we  observed  this  curious  phenomenon,  and — 
it  seems  to  me  superfluous  to  add — the  calm  with  which 
we  experimented,  render  the  hypothesis  of  hallucination 
a  most  unlikely  one. 

The  hypothesis  of  fraud  is  still  less  admissible.  The 
head  we  perceived  was  of  natural  size,  and  measured  about 
I  foot  6  inches  from  the  forehead  to  the  extremity  of 
the  beard.  If  the  phenomenon  is  to  be  attributed  to 
fraud,  we  must  explain  how  Eusapia  hid  the  necessary 
mask  on  her  person  ;  we  must  also  explain  how  she  could 
have  drawn  it  out  unknown  to  us,  and  further,  how  she 
manoeuvred  it.  Eusapia  did  not  go  into  trance  at  our 
Bordeaux  seances.  She  sometimes  saw  the  profile  in 
question,  and  manifested  her  satisfaction  at  being  able  to 
look  on,  for  the  first  time  I  think,  at  the  phenomena 
which  was  produced  through  her.  The  light  from  the 
window  was  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  see  Eusapia's  hands. 
I  have  no  need  to  say  that  her  hands  were  carefully  held 
by  her  right  and  left  controllers.  If  this  profile  had 
been  concealed  on  her  person,  it  would  have  been  abso- 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  151 

lutely  impossible  for  her  to  manoeuvre  it.  The  profile  we 
observed  appeared  to  form  itself  at  the  top  of  the  cabinet, 
at  a  height  of  about  3  feet  9  inches  above  Eusapia*s 
head  ;  it  descended  slowly  and  placed  itself  just  above 
and  in  front  of  her  ;  at  the  end  of  a  few  seconds  it  dis- 
appeared only  to  reappear  later  on  under  the  same 
conditions.  We  always  carefully  assured  ourselves  of 
the  relative  immobility  of  the  medium's  hands  and  arms  ; 
and  the  strange  phenomenon  I  relate  is  one  of  the  most 
irreproachable  I  have  ever  verified,  so  utterly  incom- 
patible is  the  hypothesis  of  fraud  with  the  conditions 
under  which  we  observed  it. 

Two  or  three  times  a  slightly  luminous  phenomenon 
was  noticed.  It  was  formed  on  the  curtain,  near  which 
my  friend  M.  de  Pontaud  and  I  were  sitting  ;  it  was  a 
whitish,  milky-looking  spot,  visible  to  every  one,  at  least 
to  those  whose  positions  allowed  them  to  perceive  it 
conveniently.  This  luminosity  appeared  to  shrink  up 
quickly,  and  disappeared  on  a  level  with  our  heads. 

Evidently  I  have  no  explanation  to  offer.  The  appari- 
tion of  these  human  forms  raises  a  problem,  which  is  far 
more  complicated  than  the  problem  of  raps  and  movements 
without  contact,  and  I  think  the  study  of  this  problem 
cannot  be  profitably  undertaken  at  present.  Nothing 
authorises  me  to  consider  these  curious  phenomena  as 
demonstrating  the  exactness  of  the  spirit  hypothesis  ;  I 
think  their  cause  lies  elsewhere  than  in  the  intervention 
of  the  spirit  of  a  deceased  person  ;  but  I  am  not  yet  able 
to  formulate  any  rational  opinion  on  this  subject.  How- 
ever, I  will  point  out  the  close  connection,  which  appears 
to  me  to  exist  between  the  production  of  these  forms,  and 
the  production  of  raps  and  movements  without  contact. 


152        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

These  relations  tend  to  persuade  me,  that  all  these 
phenomena  belong  to  the  same  order,  and  depend  upon 
the  same  agent,  and  the  same  cause.  Before,  however, 
analysing  summarily  the  observations  on  which  I  base 
this  opinion,  I  ought  to  describe  a  series  of  experiments, 
which  have  given  me  most  curious  results.  These  experi- 
ments were  made  with  a  medium,  a  man  of  deep  intelli- 
gence and  refined  nature,  of  whose  medianity  I  have 
already  spoken,  pages  74,  79,  81-2,  101-3.  ^  obtained 
with  him :  {a)  raps,  faint  at  first,  but  very  clear  and  well 
verified,  with  and  without  contact  ;  (J?)  movements  with- 
out contact  of  feeble  amplitude,  but  very  well  observed  ; 
{c)  faint  luminous  phenomena  ;  (d)  finally,  the  pro- 
duction of  diverse  forms.  The  first  two  categories  of 
facts  have  already  been  dealt  with,  I  will  now  describe 
the  last  two.  They  confirm,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
experiments  already  related  in  this  chapter. 

The  first  time  luminous  phenomena  were  seen,  we 
were  holding  a  seance  in  a  small  room,  but  were  not 
using  a  table.  The  medium  perceived  several  lights  and 
even  faces  on  the  wall  in  front  of  him.  These  lights 
and  faces  were  not  visible  to  me.  Sometimes  I  thought 
I  saw  lights,  but  extremely  faint  ones,  and  at  the  limit 
of  visibility  ;  I  think  these  lights  were  subjective.  And 
yet,  I  have  often  asked  the  medium  where  he  saw  the 
light,  to  describe  its  shape,  and  the  direction  it  took  if 
it  moved  about,  and  I  have  remarked  that  the  indications 
given  by  the  medium  concorded  with  my  own  observa- 
tions ;  but,  curiously  enough — and  it  is  my  duty  as  a 
witness  to  point  this  out — I  could  often  see  these 
lights,  just  as  well  when  my  eyes  were  closed,  as  when 
they  were  open.     This  circumstance  seems  to  me  con- 


-uw 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  153 

elusive,  and  makes  me  think  these  lights  were  subjec- 
tive. In  reality,  I  do  not  think  that  the  light  emitted 
by  the  gleams  I  saw  was  of  such  a  nature,  that  its  rays 
could  penetrate  through  closed  eyelids.  This  interior 
visibility  should  exist  in  every  case  ;  now  this  is  not  so, 
and  I  have  only  observed  it  with  this  particular  medium, 
though  I  had  once  or  twice  suspected  it  in  a  former 
series  of  experiments. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  cannot  consider  these  visions  as 
hallucinations,  unless  I  also  admit  that  this  entoptic 
hallucination  is  collective.  But  then,  why  are  not  these 
illusions  met  with  in  other  seances .?  Why  is  the  mani- 
festation of  lights  or  forms  accompanied  by  abundant 
raps  without  contact  ?  These  raps  immediately  precede 
the  apparition  of  the  forms,  and  behave  as  though  they 
were  signals  destined  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
observers.  This  is  a  coincidence  which  is  not  fortuitous, 
for  it  is  almost  constant. 

The  first  time  that  a  more  or  less  definite  form  was 
observed  with  this  medium,  no  seance  was  being  held. 
The  medium  saw  on  the  wall  the  apparition  of  one  of 
his  '  personifications,'  and  the  word  curtain  traced  in 
luminous  letters.  The  sensitive  could  not  interpret  the 
meaning  of  this  word,  for  he  had  never  been  present  at 
any  spiritistic  seance.  I  told  him  to  continue  observing, 
for  I  thought  I  understood  the  meaning  of  this  message. 
I  immediately  arranged,  as  well  as  I  could,  a  kind  of 
cabinet  in  a  corner  of  the  room  with  the  help  of  some 
black  curtains.  We  darkened  the  room  and  sat  down 
before  a  table,  the  medium  having  his  back  turned  to 
the  cabinet.  In  a  short  time  we  heard  raps  on  the  table, 
the  medium's  chair,  the  floor,  and  on  the  wall  inside  the 


154        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

cabinet.  The  medium,  interested,  turned  half  round 
towards  the  cabinet,  when  all  at  once,  after  the  pro- 
duction of  some  very  faint,  flitting  lights,  I  perceived 
the  beautiful  face  of  a  woman,  pale,  the  eyes  up-raised  as 
though  in  prayer.  The  eyes  and  hair  were  black  ;  the 
hair  was  parted  in  the  centre  and  dressed  in  the  style  of 
Mty  or  sixty  years  ago.  The  face  was  draped  in  a  white 
veil  which  also  covered  the  head,  forming  a  kind  of 
frame  for  the  face.  The  physiognomy  was  of  the 
sweetest,  and  of  rare  beauty.  The  apparition  appeared 
to  be  slightly  luminous,  of  a  whitish,  milky  hue.  It 
showed  itself  to  the  left  of  the  medium,  but  high  above 
him,  near  the  ceiling.  It  remained  visible  for  a  very 
short  time.  Prudently  interrogated,  the  medium  gave 
me  the  exact  description  of  the  face  I  had  just  perceived. 
The  details  concorded  in  every  way.  Inquiry  as  to  who 
it  was  elicited  the  information,  given  in  raps,  that  it  was 
the  face  of  one  of  the  group  of  four  fairies  of  whom  I 
spoke  on  page  8i. 

It  is  not  often  I  have  had  such  a  clear  vision.  I  have, 
indeed,  very  rarely  obtained  this  curious  phenomenon  : 
still,  I  have  observed  it  distinctly  three  times  with  this 
medium.  The  second  time,  the  faces  seemed  to  be  only 
partially  materialised  ;  I  only  saw  portions  of  faces  un- 
known to  me  :  the  medium  recognised  one  of  these  faces. 
The  third  time,  the  medium  saw  the  apparitions  plainly, 
and  described  them,  but  I  saw  only  faint  lights ;  suddenly, 
however,  I  saw  a  face,  the  forehead,  eyes,  and  nose,  repro- 
ducing the  traits  of  a  very  dear  friend  I  had  recently 
lost.  The  medium  saw  the  whole  face.  He  did  not 
know  my  friend  when  he  was  alive,  but  he  has  had 
curious  and  strange  posthumous  apparitions  of  him  under 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  155 

conditions  which  it  would  be  interesting  to  relate,  but, 
unfortunately,  I  am  not  authorised  to  do  so  completely. 

It  is  not  only  the  forms  of  human  beings  which  I  have 
seen  with  this  medium,  but  also  those  of  animals,  more 
or  less  strange.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  these  are 
due  to  imagination.  But  the  curious  fact  is,  that  there 
is  concordance  between  the  medium's  visions  and  the 
appearances  perceived  by  the  sitters. 

Finally,  under  the  same  conditions,  I  once  saw  a 
copper  lantern,  of  well-defined  shape,  and  in  a  particular 
position.  This  vision  was  also  seen  by  the  medium  in 
the  same  way.  Here,  again,  I  cannot  form  any  satis- 
factory explanation.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  I  am  the 
victim  of  hallucination,  though  the  circumstances  do  not 
favour  that  hypothesis.  The  vision  of  the  lantern  is 
analogous  to  that  of  the  pair  of  bellows  seen  by  M.  de 
Gramont  with  Eusapia.  I  refer  my  readers  to  what  I 
said  further  back  concerning  the  concordance  between 
the  raps  and  the  apparitions ;  this  simultaneousness 
existed  with  the  apparitions  of  animal-like  forms  and 
material  objects,  as  well  as  with  those  of  human  faces. 
This  is  a  fact  which  is  of  a  nature  to  set  aside  the 
hypothesis  of  pure  illusion.     But  then  ! 

I  have  mentioned  these  strange  experiences  in  order  to 
be  complete  and  sincere.  I  do  not  conceal  the  fact,  that 
it  costs  me  much  to  relate  this,  because  I  do  not  find 
herein  the  conditions  of  precision,  which  my  experiments 
in  telekinesis,  for  example,  appeared  to  present.  I  will 
add  that  I  do  not  try  to  obtain  these  phenomena  of  more 
or  less  complete  materialisations.  I  suffer  them  :  for  the 
facts  do  not  proceed  altogether  according  to  the  liking 
of  the  experimenter.      I  cannot  say  that  these  apparitions 


156        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

leave  me  indifferent ;  on  the  contrary,  they  interest  me 
immensely  ;  but  I  have  the  impression  of  being  in  the 
presence  of  a  fact,  which  is  too  complicated  to  be  usefully 
observed.  It  is  not  the  same  with  raps  and  telekinesis  : 
and  I  put  forth  all  my  efforts  in  order  to  restrict  my 
studies  and  researches  to  these  phenomena  ;  for  I  have 
the  feeling  that  we  may  be  able  to  arrive  at  discovering 
the  conditions  of  their  production.  I  imagine — perhaps 
wrongly — that,  henceforth,  we  can  submit  them  to 
scientific  discipline  ;  I  think  that  the  study  of  raps  and 
telekinetic  phenomena  is  the  necessary  preliminary  to 
the  study  of  other,  less  comprehensible,  facts.  There- 
fore, I  have  devoted  myself  almost  exclusively  to  their 
observation  ;  nevertheless,  I  did  not  think  I  was  able  to 
dispense  with  relating  everything  I  had  seen.  I  am 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  signification  of  these  diverse 
appearances ;  I  may  have  made  a  mistake,  though  I 
do  not  think  so,  but  it  seems  to  me  I  have  not  the 
right  to  make  a  choice  in  my  experiments,  to  withhold 
the  one  and  relate  the  other.  It  behoves  those  who 
read  me  to  put  themselves  in  the  same  conditions  under 
which  I  was  placed,  and  observe  in  their  turn.  I  confine 
myself  to  relating  what  I  have  seen.  I  will  add  that 
certain  facts  have  appeared  to  me  more  certain  than 
others,  but  my  role  of  witness  ends  there. 

The  ascertainments  I  have  made  in  what  concerns 
luminous  phenomena,  permit  me  to  give  some  useful 
indications.  The  first  concern  the  methods  of  operation  ; 
the  others  are  conclusions  which  I  have  drawn  from 
my  own  experiences. 

When  seeking  for  simple,  luminous  phenomena,  it  is 
advisable  to  proceed  as  I  have  done  for  parakinetic  and 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  157 

telekinetic  phenomena.  The  sitters  group  themselves 
around  a  table,  leaning  their  hands  on  it,  or  form  a 
chain  round  the  table  without  touching  it.  Needless  to 
say,  the  obscurity  ought  to  be  as  complete  as  possible. 
Under  these  conditions,  lights  can  be  obtained ;  and 
it  is  in  this  way,  I  observed  the  woman's  face  I  have 
described. 

The  very  fine  lights  which  I  saw  with  the  young 
Bordeaux  medium  (pages  141  and  following)  were  ob- 
tained in  another  manner,  which  seems  to  me  better  still. 
It  is,  moreover,  the  method  adopted  by  professional 
mediums,  perhaps  because  it  favours  the  execution  of 
fraudulent  even  more  than  genuine  phenomena.  This 
method  consists  in  placing  the  medium  in  the  cabinet 
and  forming  the  chain,  either  round  the  table  or  in  a 
half-circle,  in  which  latter  case  the  chain  is  not  closed. 

I  have  noticed  that  music  and  singing  in  common 
have  a  favourable  influence  on  the  production  of  the 
phenomena.  This  circumstance  is,  however,  another 
cause  for  suspicion,  because  the  noise  of  music  and 
singing  can  drown  that  made  by  the  medium  in  moving 
about. 

Although  I  cannot  consider  the  reality  of  the  luminous 
phenomena  observed  by  me  as  being  so  well  established 
as  that  of  certain  other  phenomena,  I  will  none  the  less 
give  the  result  of  the  ascertainments  I  think  I  have  made 
thereon.  I  indicate  them  with  every  reserve  ;  but  the 
analogy  they  present  with  the  ascertainments  I  made 
relative  to  raps  and  movements  without  contact,  appeared 
to  me  useful  to  point  out.  It  is  one  of  the  reasons  which 
made  me  believe  in  their  probability  first  of  all ;  it  is  also 
the  indication  of  the  presumable  existence  of  some  general 


158        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

law  governing  all  these  phenomena,  however  different  in 
appearance  they  may  be. 

The  most  important  observations  I  have  to  make  are, 
as  before,  the  synchronism  between  the  muscular  action 
and  the  phenomenon  ;  the  tendency  to  personification ; 
the  physical  fatigue  experienced  by  all  the  experimenters 
after  a  successful  seance. 

The  reasons  why  I  conclude  in  the  existence  of  this 
synchronism,  are  based  upon  a  great  number  of  observa- 
tions made  with  Eusapia  and  other  mediums.  It  seemed 
to  me,  in  my  experiments  with  Eusapia  Paladino,  that 
this  latter  preferred  the  breath  to  any  other  movement 
for  the  production  of  lights.  This  conclusion  is  uncer- 
tain, because  I  have  not  had  occasion  to  examine  many 
luminous  phenomena  with  the  Neapolitan  medium. 

My  observations  were  more  precise  with  the  Bordeaux 
medium.  Rubbing  the  hands  together,  rubbing  the  feet 
on  the  floor,  breathing  hard,  squeezing  hands  tightly 
when  the  chain  is  formed  ;  all  this  provoked  the  appari- 
tion of  the  curious  luminosities  I  have  spoken  about. 
True,  these  were  also  produced  spontaneously  ;  but  the 
movements  executed  appeared  to  me  to  have  an  action 
upon  their  manifestation. 

Here  again,  the  relation  with  the  muscular  contrac- 
tion rather  than  with  the  movement  itself  seemed  to  me 
to  exist,  but  I  could  not  verify  this  point  with  the  same 
certitude  as  with  raps  and  movements  without  contact. 

At  all  events,  all  reserves  made  for  fraud,  which  I 
recognise  possible  though  improbable,  chanting  or  sing- 
ing in  common  has  appeared  to  me  to  have  a  favourable 
influence  on  the  phenomena.  I  have  had  occasion  of 
verifying  this  effect  of  intoned  words  ;  I  am  unable  to 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  159 

give  its  explanation,  although  we  may  suspect  what  it  is 
likely  to  be.  I  will  simply  recall  to  mind  the  role 
which  intoning  or  singing  plays  in  religious  ceremonies 
and  in  magical  operations  :  the  words  *  incantations/ 
*  enchantments,'  are  very  significative,  from  that  point  of 
view.  The  erudite  will  remember  the  magic  songs  of  the 
nth  eclogue  of  Theocritus,  and  of  the  8th  of  Virgil. 
The  Hindoo  magicians  intone  their  mentrams.  Nothing 
is  more  widespread  than  this  belief  in  the  supernatural 
virtue  of  singing,  of  the  cadenced  and  modulated  word. 
As  the  supernormal  facts  which  I  relate  appear  to  me  to 
have  been  known  from  the  earliest  times — however  ill- 
interpreted  they  may  have  been  —  I  am  inclined  to 
believe,  that  the  superstitions  relative  to  the  magical 
power  of  song  are  not  without  a  foundation  of  truth. 
This  appears  most  improbable,  and  no  one  is  more 
astonished  than  myself,  to  find  myself  admitting  this 
possibility.  I  admit  it  nevertheless.  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  that  the  greater  part  of  popular  beliefs  have  some 
foundation  ;  the  particle  of  truth  which  they  contain  is 
often  very  feeble,  because  ignorance,  fear,  imagination 
mask  it  under  accessory  and  unreasonable  beliefs,  which 
smother  it.  There  would  be  many  interesting  analogies 
to  point  out  on  this  subject,  if  I  had  not  systematically 
forbidden  myself  all  manner  of  theoretical  commentary. 
All  the  same,  I  will  remark  that  the  most  worthy 
spiritists  recommend  singing  or  music  during  seances. 
I  will  cease,  for  I  can  only  repeat  here  the  considerations 
which  I  have  already  presented  concerning  the  relation 
between  the  nervous  energy,  whatever  it  may  be,  and 
luminous  phenomena ;  the  connection  appears  to  be  very 
close  indeed. 


i6o       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

The  physiognomical  aspect  of  these  phenomena  is 
similar  to  that  of  sonorous  and  motor  phenomena  :  It 
tends  to  personification,  and  it  is  probable,  that  imperfect 
luminous  forms  are  but  rude  outlines  of  a  real  form. 
That  form  is  not  always  human,  although  it  appears  to 
be  so  as  a  rule.  I  have  given  examples,  where  the 
appearance  was  that  of  an  animal  or  of  an  object.  I 
have  never  been  able  to  converse  with  the  form  itself, 
when  it  was  human  ;  but  I  have  experimented  with 
mediums  who  thought  they  conversed  with  the  forms. 
These  all  claim  to  be  the  spirits  of  deceased  persons. 
What  renders  this  unanimity  particularly  interesting  is 
that  one  of  the  mediums,  with  whom  1  have  observed  the 
finest  phenomena  of  human  appearances,  is  by  no  means 
a  spiritist. 

Is  he  a  victim  of  hallucination  ?  It  is  possible ;  but 
then  how  are  we  to  explain  the  fragment  of  truth  which 
exists  in  his  hallucination  ?  I  am  well  aware  that  im- 
personal memory  is  an  inexhaustible  source  of  knowledge, 
quite  unknown  to  the  normal  personality ;  but  there  are 
cases,  where  the  hypothesis  of  hypermnesia  is  scarcely 
acceptable.  Here  is  an  example.  The  medium,  of 
whom  I  spoke  a  little  while  ago,  has  several  times  had 
the  impression  that  a  deceased  person  unknown  to  him, 
but  known  to  me,  entered  his  bedroom.  The  apparition 
was  preceded  by  a  noise  of  approaching  footsteps,  the 
door  appeared  to  open,  and  the  form  entered.  The 
form  sat  down  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  caressed  the 
medium's  arm,  and  took  his  hand.  The  sensitive  was 
alarmed  at  these  visions,  which  he  looks  upon  as  halluci- 
nations, and  does  his  best  to  rid  himself  of.  At  the 
end  of  three  or  four  visits  the  form  ceased   to  show 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  i6i 

itself,  to  my  great  regret,  for  I  had  therein  the  occasion 
of  making  an  observation  of  the  highest  interest.  Un- 
fortunately, I  had  not  sufficient  influence  over  this  re- 
markable sensitive,  to  induce  him  to  lend  a  hand  to  the 
development  of  this  phenomenon.  The  person  reputed 
to  appear  had  a  very  characteristic  walk,  and  it  would  be 
sufficient  for  me  to  describe  it,  for  those  who  knew  the 
man  to  recognise  him  at  once  ;  the  vision  had  the  same 
characteristic  walk.  Again,  my  friend  wore  whiskers. 
But  the  vision  wore  a  full  short  beard,  a  detail  which  the 
doctor  who  attended  him  in  his  last  illness  verified  ;  my 
friend  did  not  shave  towards  the  end  of  his  life.  I  was 
not  aware  of  this. 

The  medium,  living  in  the  same  town,  could  have 
known  the  man  ;  but  if,  contrary  to  his  assertions,  he 
had  known  him,  how  could  he  have  seen  him  wearing  a 
beard  such  as  he  never  used  to  wear  ?  Interesting  detail ! 
since  the  apparition,  purporting  to  be  my  friend,  wore  a 
beard  just  as  my  friend  had  worn,  not  in  his  lifetime, 
but  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Further,  the  apparition  appeared  to  manifest  a  desire 
to  speak.  It  tried  to  reassure  the  alarmed  medium  ;  but 
the  latter  always  got  up  and  turned  on  the  light,  before  the 
phantom  had  time  to  speak.  Now  at  that  moment,  an 
event  was  brewing,  of  which  I  would  have  been  thankful 
to  have  been  warned.  The  incident  occurred,  and  the 
apparition  was  not  seen  again.  This  is  an  ensemble  of 
facts  of  a  nature  to  arouse  attention.  I  have  not  been 
able  to  submit  the  case  to  thorough  analysis,  and  I  give 
it  with  reserve.  It  is  the  nearest  approach  to  classical 
spiritism,  which  I  have  personally  met  with,  but  to  me 
it  does  not  seem  to  be  convincing  under  the  conditions 

L    ' 


1 62        METAPSYCHTCAL  PHENOMENA 

in  which  I  observed  it ;  for  the  incident  I  refer  to  could 
easily  have  been  foreseen  by  the  medium. 

Other  personifications  manifested  themselves  to  this 
medium,  but  their  character  of  apparent  identity  is  less 
certain.  One  of  them,  with  curious  energy,  insists  that 
he  is  the  person  he  claims  to  be  :  namely,  Chappe  d'Au- 
teroche,  a  savant  of  the  last  century.  His  name  appears 
in  Larousse's  Dictionary.  The  personification  gave  his 
name  correctly,  as  well  as  the  date  of  his  death  and 
where  he  died.  He  gave  a  Christian  name  which  is  not 
in  Larousse,  Adhemar  instead  of  Jean,  which  the 
Dictionary  gives.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know,  if 
this  name  Adhemar  is  mentioned  in  other  dictionaries. 
I  will  add  that  the  apparition  expresses  itself  in  old 
French,  but  with  a  Norman  accent.  The  medium  hears 
it  say  '  moue  '  for  '  moi,*  *  etoue  *  for  *  etait,'  etc.  Now 
Chappe  was  born  at  Mauriac  in  Auvergne  ;  therefore  I 
cannot  explain  why  his  apparition  should  have  a  Norman 
accent.  So  far,  however,  I  have  not  carefully  analysed 
this  personification. 

I  would  like  to  have  been  able  to  experiment,  more 
than  I  have  been  able  to  do,  with  the  sensitive  through 
whose  medianity  I  have  observed  these  curious  facts. 
Perhaps  the  publication  of  this  book  will  interest  him, 
and  induce  him  to  give  himself  up  to  an  attentive 
examination.^ 

It  must  not  be  concluded  from  what  I  have  just 
related,  that  the  intervention  of  my  friend  and  of  Chappe 
d'Auteroche  appears  to  me  to  be  real.  Nothing  in  my  ex- 
perience authorises  me  to  entertain  this  opinion.  I  relate 
these  facts,  because  the  emergence  of  these  two  personifi- 

1  See  Chapter  vi.,  *  Recent  Phenomena,  etc' 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  163 

cations  occurred  at  seances  where  I  was  present,  and  be- 
cause they  are  closely  associated  with  phenomena  directly 
observed  by  me.  I  think  we  can  draw  a  conclusion 
from  these  phenomena  :  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  the 
manner  in  which  these  visions  are  produced,  there  are 
certain  features,  which  recall  to  mind  the  symbolisation 
and  dramatisation  of  dreams.  This  indication  is  only 
temporary  ;  I  have  not  enough  elements  of  appreciation 
to  be  able  to  formulate  it  with  any  degree  of  certitude, 
but  I  point  out  this  feature  to  experimenters,  who,  more 
favoured  than  I,  may  have  opportunities  for  observing 
analogous  phenomena  with  more  convenience  and  for  a 
greater  length  of  time. 

I  will  terminate  these  remarks  by  the  recital  of 
another  fact  of  the  same  order,  which  I  witnessed  at 
Madame  Agullana's.  It  occurred  during  an  afternoon 
seance  at  her  house.  The  medium,  and  two  or  three 
persons  whom  I  did  not  know,  were  seated  round  a  small 
table.  One  of  the  visitors  was  a  small  landed  proprietor 
near  Bordeaux.  This  visitor  came  for  the  first  time  ; 
he  was  accompanied  by  a  rural  constable,  whom  I  knew. 
All  at  once  Madame  Agullana  said  to  the  newcomer, 
^  I  see  some  one,  who  says  he  is  your  uncle  ;  he  wears 
a  cap  ;  his  face  is  red ;  he  has  a  long  beard ;  he  has 
sandy-coloured  hair  ;  he  smokes  a  short  pipe  ;  he  seems 
to  have  something  the  matter  with  his  right  arm,  it  is 
bent  across  his  chest.'  .  .  .  She  also  gave  other  details. 
The  visitor  did  not  speak,  a  fact  of  which  I  took  pains 
to  assure  myself. 

When  the  details  were  all  given,  the  visitor  said 
that  if  the  apparition  claiming  to  be  his  uncle,  was 
really    his    uncle,    would    he    kindly    say    how   he    was 


1 64       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

addressed  in  his  family.  The  table  dictated  typto- 
logically,  *  Teuton  L.  P.'  The  stranger  then  said  that 
Madame  Agullana  had  given  him  the  exact  description 
of  a  second  cousin  ^  who  had  been  dead  for  some  months, 
and  who,  because  of  his  inveterate  habit  of  smoking, 
was  nicknamed  '  Touton-la-Pipe.' 

I  have  seen  several  sincere,  trustworthy  people  receive 
facts    of  the    same    kind   through    Madame    Agullana. 
There  is  notably  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  a  lost 
debenture,  which  is  curious  and  interesting  ;  1  was  able 
to  follow  the  different  phases  of  this  discovery.     The 
indication    appeared    to    emanate    from    the    deceased 
husband   of  the  owner  of  the    debenture.       Notwith- 
standing the  interest  which  these  observations  presented, 
I     cannot    analyse    them     seriously,    for    they    are    in- 
sufficiently proved.     The  character  of  the  medium  has 
always  seemed  to  me  irreproachable,  and  her  good  faith 
above  all  suspicion  ;  but  the  circumstances  do  not  per- 
mit  of  an   exact  judgment.       Neither    do    I    consider 
myself  authorised    to   affirm    that   the    personality    of 
'  Touton-la-Pipe '  was  quite  unknown  to  the  medium. 
The    discovery   of  the    debenture    is    perhaps    only   a 
coincidence.      I   have,  however,   related  these   facts  to 
indicate   the    possibility  of  an   order   of  research   of  a 
particularly  suggestive  nature.     Some  of  the   more  in- 
fluential members  of  the  English  Society  for  Psychical 
Research,    Myers,    Lodge,     Hodgson,    Hyslop,    have 
entered  upon  these  studies    under  excellent  conditions 
of  observation,   and    consider    that    they  have   been  in 
communication  with  their  deceased  friends.     I  have  not 

^  In  France,  a  male  cousin  once  removed  is  someJ:imes  called  'oncle  a 
la  mode  de  Bretagne/ 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  165 

had  the  same  chances,  and  my  own  experiences  tend  to 
make  me  adopt  a  different  way  of  thinking.  It  is 
very  possible  that  my  colleagues  are  right,  and  I  am 
wrong. 

Finally,  the   third   statement  which   my   observations 
permit  me  to  make,  is  that  the  production  of  forms  and 
luminous  phenomena  is  accompanied  with  much  fatigue 
on  the  part  of  the  observers.     I  have  already  frequently 
pointed  out  this  circumstance.     On  the  occasion  of  the 
production  of  the  facts  described  in  the  present  chapter, 
I  noticed  certain  peculiarities,  which  I  will  point  out  to 
the  attention  of  experimenters.     Fatigue  is  not  felt  in 
an  equal  degree  by  all  the  sitters.     Some  seem  to  feel 
none  at  all ;   and,  as  a  rule,  these  latter  are  not  good 
auxiliaries.     It  looks  as  though  some  persons  were  not 
capable  of  emitting   the   force   employed.      Others,  on 
the  contrary,  emit  it  with  great  facility  and  tire  quickly. 
I  have  not  been  able  to  study  the  relation  which  may 
exist,  between  the  temperament  of  these   two  kinds  of 
sitters  and   the   production  of  the  phenomena  ;    but  I 
have  the  impression,  that  this  relation  ought  to  exist ; 
it  appears  to  me  in  a  function  of  the  organism  rather 
than  in  a  rapport  with  the  mental  condition  or  moods. 
This  makes  one  think  of  the  belief  professed  by  spiritists 
concerning    incredulity.      In    several    spiritistic    groups 
failure  is  attributed  to  the  presence  of  incredulous  sitters  ; 
I  am  persuaded,  that  the  beliefs  of  experimenters  have 
nothing    at    all    to    do    with    the    production    of    the 
phenomena  observed,   though   it  is   certainly   necessary 
to  experiment   seriously  and  without   bias.      I   touched 
upon  the  results  of  my  observations  in    that  respect, 
when  speaking  about  the  harmony  of  the  circle.     The 


1 66        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

influence   of  bias   would   be  explained,   if  the  apparent 
consciousness  of  the  personification  could  be  considered 
as    composed    of   the    elementary  consciousness    of  the 
sitters.     This  hypothesis  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be 
demonstrated  ;  but  some  of  my  experiments  have  made 
me  think  of  its  possibility,  and  I  consider  it  ought  to  be 
submitted  to  examination.     Things  seem  to  happen,  as 
though  the  nervous  influx  of  the  sitters  created  a  field 
of  force  around  the  experimenters,  and  more  especially 
the  medium  :  Each  experimenter  would  then   act  as  a 
dynamogenic  element,  and  would  enter,  for  a  variable 
part,  into  the  production  of  the  liberated  energy.     This 
energy  would    act    beyond    the    apparent   limits  of  the 
body,  under  conditions  analogous  to  those  governing  its 
intracorporal  action  ;   that   is  to  say,  it  would  remain, 
to  a  certain  extent,  in  connection  with  the  superior  or 
inferior  nervous  centres,  conscious  or  unconscious.     In 
this  case  we  could  understand,  how  the  energy  appears 
to   depend,   to    a  certain   extent,  upon   the  will  of  the 
sitters  or  the  medium.      We   can  even  explain   that  it 
should  appear  to  manifest  an  independent  will,  if  its  pro- 
duction were  due  to  the  activity  of  the  nervous  centres, 
the  action  of  which  is  independent  of  ordinary  conscious- 
ness.      In    that   hypothesis,    none  of  the  sitters  would 
recognise  the   trace   of  their  normal  personality  in   the 
evolution  of  the  phenomena  ;  and  this  is  what  generally 
happens.     Sometimes,  however,  the  medium  or  one  of 
the   sitters  has  the   feeling,  more  or  less  precise,   that 
a  phenomenon  is  about  to  take  place.     Eusapia  Paladino 
often    announces   what    is   coming.       In   this   case   the 
nervous  energy,  employed  to  realise  the   phenomenon, 
would    be   in   connection    with    the   conscious   nervous 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  167 

centres  of  the  medium  only  ;  and  she  would  appear  to 
the  sitters  to  be  subjected  to  an  extraneous  personal 
will.  Eusapia  attributes  it  to  'John,*  who  seems  to 
have  the  characteristics  of  a  secondary  personality. 
Such  appears  to  me  to  be  the  genesis  of  the  personifi- 
cation, in  the  greater  number  of  cases  observed  by  me. 
There  are  others,  however,  where  this  explication  is 
less  satisfactory. 

I  do  not  hide  from  myself  how  difficult  it  is  to  admit 
the  hypothesis  I  have  just  formulated.  We  are  ill- 
prepared  to  consider  the  psychic  force  as  identical,  at 
least  in  its  essence,  with  that  which  circulates  in  our 
nerves  ;  and  we  are  no  better  prepared  to  believe,  that 
this  force  may  be  able  to  serve  as  a  vehicle  to  a  part 
of  our  personal  or  subliminal  consciousness,  or  to  think 
that  it  can  preserve  any  connection  with  our  psychic 
centres,  when  it  acts  beyond  the  limits  of  the  body. 
Nevertheless,  it  looks  as  though  it  were  really  so,  in  the 
greater  number  of  cases. 

These  data  suffice  to  render  comprehensible  the 
possible  mechanism  of  raps  and  movements  without 
contact.  It  is  not  even  necessary  to  suppose  that  the 
nervous  force  acts  beyond  the  limits  of  the  body,  if 
we  admit  that  the  experimenters  create  around  them 
a  sort  of  magnetic  field.  The  nervous  force  would 
reach  a  maximum  of  potentiality  in  the  experimenters 
or  in  the  medium  ;  the  objects  placed  within  the  field 
would  have  a  diffisrent  potentiality ;  according  to  the 
conditions,  we  would  have  phenomena  of  attraction  or 
repulsion. 

In  this  way  we  could  understand  motor  phenomena. 
Raps  are  less  easily  explained,  unless  we  consider  them 


1 68        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

as  facts  analogous  to  electrical  discharges.  The  rap 
would  then  be  equivalent  to  the  noise  of  a  spark  ;  it 
would  be  invisible,  though  in  some  cases  it  might  be 
perceived. 

Lights  and  forms  raise  problems  much  more  difficult 
of  solution.  They  may  be  susceptible  of  the  following 
explanation  :  we  will  suppose  that  particles  of  a  very 
attenuated  substance,  e.g.  the  ether  or  any  other  kind  of 
rarefied  matter,  existed  capable  of  being  acted  upon  by 
nerve  force  ;  they  would  become  charged,  and  dispersed, 
according  to  the  lines  of  force,  and  these  lines  would  be 
determined  by  the  action  of  nerve  centres,  and  would 
take  form  corresponding  to  those  particular  centres.  They 
would  have  a  certain  plasticity,  if  I  may  thus  express 
myself,  and  this  plasticity  would  be  in  connection  with 
those  centres,  possessing  preponderating  physiological 
activity. 

If  this  connection  existed  with  the  superior  ideative 
centres,  we  would  have  intelligible,  definite  forms,  such 
as  faces  of  human  beings,  heads  of  animals,  and  objects  ; 
should  connection  with  the  inferior  centres  be  established, 
undefined  forms  only  would  be  obtained. 

Their  luminosity  would  depend  upon  the  state  of  con- 
densation of  this  rarefied  matter  of  which  they  are 
constituted.  Those  subject  to  lesser  condensation  would 
be  the  most  luminous ;  and  it  might  happen,  that  a  form 
of  greater  density  would  be  surrounded  by  a  luminous 
atmosphere  of  lesser  density. 

One  could,  in  this  way,  explain  the  relative  indepen- 
dence of  the  forms,  and  phosphorescent  nature  of  the 
pictures. 

These  are  the  hypotheses  which  might  be  made.     I 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  169 

indicate  them  with  much  reserve,  simply  to  show  the 
theoretical  route  towards  which  my  experience  tends  to 
direct  me.  1  set  them  forth  summarily,  without  dis- 
cussing them  in  detail.  I  do  not  conceal  from  myself 
the  fact  that  my  ideas  are  far  from  being  definite,  and 
that  the  hypotheses  I  timidly  express  would  fare  badly 
under  rigorous  analysis.  I  have  found  no  better,  and 
I  have  the  impression  that  they  ought  to  contain  a 
particle  of  truth. 

I  beg  to  be  excused  for  having  again  infringed  upon 
the  rule  I  imposed  on  myself,  for  having  presented 
purely  theoretical  considerations,  which  I  am  the  first  to 
acknowledge  as  premature.  I  have  not  seen  the  curious 
facts  I  relate  without  trying  to  penetrate  into  their 
cause,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  resist  the  desire  to  make 
known,  not  what  is  a  definite  opinion,  but  what  is  for 
me  a  hypothesis  worth  examining. 

Besides  the  phenomena  described  in  this  and  preceding 
chapters,  I  have  observed  others  which  might  be  com- 
pared with  them,  for  they  seem  to  me  to  have  a  certain 
connection  with  them.  I  refer  to  tactile  sensations  such 
as  touch,  contact,  and  stamped  impressions,  etc.  I  will 
briefly  describe  them. 

I.  It  is  only  with  Eusapia  Paladino,  that  I  have  felt 
tactile  sensations  in  a  positive  manner.  With  this 
medium  certain  sitters,  and  especially  those  seated  next 
to  her,  have  the  feeling  of  being  touched  on  the  back, 
on  the  arms,  and  hands,  on  the  head  and  body.  The 
phenomenon  is  usually  produced  under  the  following 
conditions.  Eusapia's  hands  being  or  appearing  to  be 
held  by  her  neighbours,  the  latter  see  the  curtains  come 
near  them,  and  then  feel  themselves  touched.     The  touch 


I70        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

is  sometimes  given  without  any  movement  of  the  cur- 
tains. The  sensation  of  the  touch  varies :  it  is  now 
that  of  a  finger  which  is  thrust  into  the  thigh,  now  of  a 
large  hand  resting  on  the  back,  now  fingers  pinching 
you,  or  seizing  you  on  the  head,  the  neck,  chin,  etc. 
Numerous  examples  of  these  contacts  will  be  found  in 
the  report  of  the  TAgnelas  experiments  {Annates  des 
Sciences  PsychiqueSy  i^^G). 

In  our  seances  at  Choisy  1896,  the  same  phenomenon 
was  often  reproduced.  In  that  series  we  were  careful 
to  have  as  much  light  as  possible  ;  we  arranged  a  system 
of  different  coloured  lights.  One  of  the  lights  which 
gave  us  the  best  results  was  that  of  a  lantern,  the  glass 
sides  of  which  were  replaced  by  parchment.  It  gave  a 
softened  yellowish  light.  From  the  private  account  of 
these  seances  I  take  the  following  extracts.  Seance  of 
the  8th  October  : — 

*  Eusapia's  hands  are  still  held  and  seen  on  the  table. 
The  Colonel  then  feels  several  touches,  and  a  large 
hand  rubs  him  through  the  curtains,  on  the  top  of  his 
head.*  ...  A  more  curious  phenomenon  happened 
before  that  ;  but  only  one  of  the  medium's  hands  was 
visible. 

^  At  the  medium's  request  the  lamp  is  turned  in 
such  a  way  as  to  lessen  the  light,  which,  however,  is  still 
sufficient  to  enable  us  to  distinguish  faces  and  hands 
by  their  whiteness.  MM.  de  Rochas  and  de  Gramont 
change  places  ;  Eusapia's  hands  are  seen  and  held  by 
General  Thomassin  on  the  left  and  M.  de  Gramont  on 
the  right.  Eusapia  frees  her  left  hand  for  a  moment, 
brings  a  part  of  the  curtain  on  to  the  table,  and  glides 
her  hand  underneath  it,  in  order  to  shelter  it  from  the 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  171 

light ;    the  General    regains    possession  of  the  hand — 
under  the  curtain — and  does  not  abandon  it  any  more. 
The  other  hand,  held  by  M.  de  Gramont,  remains  visible 
to  every  one.      Almost  instantly,   General  Thomassin 
feels    on    his  thigh — and    through  the    curtains,    which 
bulge   out  in    consequence — slight    contacts  ;    then    the 
sensation  of  a  pinch  ;    afterwards,  he  distinguishes  the 
contact  of  a  woman's  small  hand,  followed  by  the  con- 
tact of  a  man's  large  hand.     After  that,  he  is  struck 
with  force  on  the  shoulders  and  head  by  a  large  hand, 
outside  the  curtains.      Every   one  hears  the  sound  of 
the  blows,  and  sees  the  hand ;  but  every  one  sees  the 
hand  in  a  different  fashion.     M.  de  Rochas  hardly  sees 
it  at  all  ;  General  Thomassin  sees  it  as  greyish  green  ; 
M.  Watteville    and    M.   Gramont  see  it  as  grey;    M. 
Maxwell  as  greyish  yellow.    Eusapia  determines  different 
movements  of  the  fluidic  hand  by  mimicking  them  with 
her  right  hand,  which  is  held  by  M.  Gramont  in  sight 
of  every  one.' 

This  observation  is  interesting,  but  at  first  glance  it 
appears  very  suspicious,  because  of  the  care  taken  by 
the  medium  to  hide  her  hand  under  the  curtain.  General 
Thomassin  held  her  hand  well  ;  I  do  not  doubt  but  that 
it  was  Eusapia's  hand  he  held  ;  but  let  us  accept  for  a 
moment  the  hypothesis  of  an  artificial  hand,  which 
Eusapia  had  adroitly  given  to  the  General  to  hold.  This 
is  Dr.  Hodgson's  explanation.  In  that  case,  how  would 
the  hand,  which  touched  General  Thomassin,  have  been 
able  to  move  over  his  back  and  head  and  strike  him 
without  any  movement  of  the  left  arm  being  perceived  ? 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  light  was  sufficient,  and  that 
the  hand  which  gave  the  touches  was  seen  by  nearly  all 


172        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  observers.  That  hand  was  outside  the  curtains.  I 
remember  another  seance  held  in  the  afternoon,  in  the 
course  of  which  touches  were  lavished  on  all  the  experi- 
menters, even  on  those  who  were  furthest  away  from  the 
medium. 

In  the  three  series  of  experiments,  1895,  1896,  and 
1897,  made  with  Eusapia,  I  have  had  occasion  of 
repeatedly  verifying  the  phenomenon  of  touch.  It 
appeared  certain  to  me  in  a  great  number  of  cases.  But 
it  is  a  suspicious  phenomenon,  because  of  the  extreme 
facility  with  which  it  can  be  simulated. 

I  remember  a  series  of  fraudulent  experiments,  in  the 
course  of  which  several  touches  were  given.  The  first 
touches,  through  the  curtains,  made  me  think  of  the 
contacts  obtained  with  Eusapia  ;  but  obscurity  reigned 
complete,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  medium's 
left-hand  neighbour  touched  me  with  a  stick.  I  was 
also  touched  on  the  knee,  but  it  was  by  a  very  natural 
hand,  which  belonged  to  one  of  the  experimenters,  a 
man  of  inferior  intellect.  Inexperienced  people  are 
easily  deceived  by  these  contacts  ;  however,  the  marked 
difference  which  exists  between  the  falsidical  and  the 
veridical  is  quickly  perceived,  when  we  have  become 
accustomed  to  these  phenomena.  I  do  not  advise 
experimenters  to  put  themselves  under  the  conditions 
in  which  these  facts  are  observed,  as  they  are  very 
unfavourable  for  the  examination  of  the  phenomenon. 
These  conditions,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge, 
are  : — (i)  the  formation  of  a  chain  around  a  table,  the 
medium  being  seated  with  his  back  to  the  curtains 
of  the  cabinet ;  (2)  an  extremely  feeble  light,  or  none 
at   all.     It  is   only  with   Eusapia  that   I  have  obtained 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  173 

touches  with  light,  and  even  then  the  light  was  of  the 
weakest. 

These  touches,  besides  having  the  inconvenience  of 
carrying  little  conviction  with  them,  because  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  they  are  obtained,  have  also  the 
disadvantage  of  impressioning  persons  who  are  easily 
moved  and  frightened.  I  have  seen  very  courageous 
people  affected  by  these  touches.  Therefore  we  must 
not  try  to  obtain  them,  until  we  are  already  familiarised 
with  the  observation  of  physical  phenomena. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  phenomenon  of  attouchement 
presents  the  characteristics  pointed  out  in  those  I  have 
already  examined.  In  the  first  place,  we  note  the  corre- 
lation which  exists  between  the  movements  of  the  medium 
and  the  contact.  I  gave  an  example  just  now,  when  re- 
lating the  phenomena  of  which  General  Thomassin  was  the 
object.  The  movements  of  the  right  hand  which  touched 
him  were  mimicked  by  Eusapia's  right  hand,  which  was 
visible,  held  by  M.  de  Gramont,  and  seen  by  every  one. 

Here  is  another  example,  taken  from  my  notes,  in 
which  synchronous  movements  were  executed  by  one  of 
the  experimenters  : — 

*■  John '  (the  secondary  personality)  *  then  asks  M. 
Rochas,  who  holds  Eusapia's  left  hand  in  his  right 
hand,  to  put  his  left  hand  on  Eusapia's  neck,  the 
fingers  stretched  out  as  though  in  the  act  of  magnetis- 
ing ;  he  then  tells  him  to  lower  his  fingers.  M.  Rochas 
executes  the  movement  several  times,  and  each  time 
M.  Maxwell,  who  holds  the  medium's  right  hand,  feels 
synchronous  touches  on  his  right  shoulder,  which  is,  at 
the  very  least,  eighteen  inches  away  from  the  medium.' 
This  fact  may  be  compared  with  those  I  indicated  when 


174       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

dealing  with  raps  and  motor  or  luminous  phenomena. 
We  see  how  constant  the  relation  is  between  the 
medium's  movements  and  the  phenomenon.  This  is 
a  first  general  ascertainment.  If  I  might  venture  to 
use  the  expression,  I  would  say  that  we  are  in  the 
presence  of  one  of  the  first  laws  governing  the  pro- 
duction of  these  paranormal  phenomena.  I  have  not 
sufficiently  observed  the  phenomenon  of  touch  to  be 
able  to  say,  that  the  relation  indicated  exists  between 
the  muscular  contraction  and  the  phenomenon,  rather 
than  between  the  phenomenon  and  the  movement  exe- 
cuted ;  but  some  facts,  far  too  few,  it  is  true,  tend  to 
make  me  think  it  is  so. 

Finally,  the  experimenters,  and  especially  the  medium, 
are  very  fatigued  after  the  production  of  the  phenomenon 
of  touch. 

The  influence  of  light  seems  to  be  very  unfavourable. 
I  have  not  had  occasion  of  observing  touches  in  full 
light,  as  I  have  so  often  done  with  raps  and  movements 
without  contact.  Almost  total  obscurity  was  necessary 
with  Eusapia.  This  circumstance  brings  the  phenomenon 
of  attouchement  into  conjunction  with  that  of  materialisa- 
tion. This  is  interesting,  for  if  the  touches  are  due  to 
the  condensation  of  some  matter,  as  materialised  forms 
appear  to  be,  there  is  room  to  think  that  the  two  pheno- 
mena are  closely  connected,  and  that  it  is  the  same 
substance  which,  in  becoming  condensed,  produces  them 
both.  This  is  what  I  have  observed,  notably  at  F Agnelas, 
when  I  saw  a  hand  and  arm  touch  M.  Sabatier's  head,  at 
the  moment  the  latter  mentioned  having  been  touched 
on  the  head. 

We  see  how  much  a  calm  and  impartial  examination 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA 


175 


of  the  facts  reveals  common  conditions  for  their  pro- 
duction, and  similarities  between  some  among  them. 

II.  Stamped  impressions  or  imprints  bring  us  into  the 
presence  of  a  category  of  phenomena  of  the  same  order. 
Pressure  appears  to  be  exercised  upon  a  material  sub- 
stance instead  of  upon  the  sitters.  If  that  substance  be 
soft  enough,  the  impression  of  the  form  which  has 
exercised  the  pressure  may  be  left  upon  it.  I  have 
only  twice  observed  this  phenomenon,  and  that  was 
with  Eusapia.  It  was  at  Choisy  in  1896.  The  first 
time,  we  obtained  the  impression  of  the  mounts  of  the 
fingers  in  lamp-black.  The  conditions  of  observation 
were  not  good.  The  second  time,  the  impression  was 
marked  in  clay.  I  take  the  following  extract  from  our 
report  : — 

'The  dish  containing  the  plastic  clay  is  put  in  the 
centre  of  the  table.  Almost  immediately  the  dish, 
which  weighs  nearly  four  lbs.,  is  lifted  up  and  placed  in 
equilibrium  on  the  left  arm  of  M.  de  Rochas,  whose 
left  hand  continues  to  hold  Eusapia's  right  hand.  M.  de 
Rochas  feels  three  distinct,  successive  pressures  of  the 
dish  resting  on  his  arm  ;  then  a  friendly  pressure  on  the 
back  of  his  arm  apprises  him,  that  the  phenomenon  is 
accomplished.  We  carry  the  dish  away  at  once,  and  in 
the  daylight  we  see  finger-prints  in  the  clay  ;  the  prints 
look  as  though  the  fingers  had  been  enveloped  in  some 
material  of  fine  texture,  the  woof  being  distinctly  visible 
in  the  clay.'  I  did  not  observe  this  fact  with  enough 
precision  to  be  able  to  retain  it  as  a  demonstrated  fact. 
I  point  it  out,  nevertheless,  because  it  permits  one  to 
preserve  the  material  trace  of  the  phenomenon.  Other 
observers  have  obtained  better  imprints  with  Eusapia. 


176       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

I  have  seen  some  which  represent  a  distorted  likeness  of 
the  medium's  face.  I  think  this  phenomenon  ought  to 
be  observed  with  care,  if  one  has  the  occasion  to  meet 
with  mediums  capable  of  producing  it.  I  will  point  out 
the  following  fact  to  the  attention  of  possible  observers  : 
the  almost  constant  presence  of  a  kind  of  woof,  as  if 
the  object  which  made  the  impression  was  covered  with 
thin  gauze.  This  circumstance  is  at  first  sight  sus- 
picious ;  but  here,  again,  as  always  when  we  are  in 
presence  of  these  unfamiliar  manifestations,  we  must 
not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  conclude  in  fraud,  and 
say  that  the  medium  put  a  wet  piece  of  gauze  over  face 
and  hands,  in  order  to  avoid  soiling  the  loam  and  bearing 
tell-tale  traces  of  cheating.  But  I  recognise  that  this  is 
the  explanation  which  ought  to  present  itself  before  any 
other  ;  and  we  must  not  put  it  to  one  side,  unless  we 
have  sufficient  reasons  for  doing  so.  At  the  same  time, 
we  must  not  jump  to  the  conclusion  of  fraud  solely 
because  of  this  gauzy  appearance.  There  is  something 
interesting  in  the  presence  of  this  gauze.  The  faces  I 
have  seen  were  all  framed  in  a  sort  of  milky-looking 
veil.  Personally,  I  have  rarely  seen  faces  free  of  this. 
I  have  not  observed  it  around  material  objects  nor 
around  animals*  heads.  Neither  do  I  observe  it  in 
hypnagogic  illusions.  I  will  point  out  the  following 
observation  of  MM.  Brincard  and  Bechade  on  the 
subject : — 

'  M.  de  Rochas  feels  himself  touched  on  the  face  as 
though  by  a  beard,  and  sees  standing  out  in  relief, 
against  the  part  of  the  room  best  lighted  up  by  the 
window,  a  long  black  lock  of  wavy  hair.  MM.  Brincard 
and   Bechade   have   the  sensation   that  their  heads   are 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  177 

enveloped  in  transparent  black  gauze,  which  seems  to 
fall  on  to  their  shoulders  ;  it  disappears  before  they  have 
time  to  seize  it.' 

I  did  not  notice  these  traces  of  tissue,  with  the 
undoubtedly  fraudulent  impressions  which  have  been 
shown  me  or  done  in  my  presence.  I  am  going  to 
give  an  example,  to  show  how  an  attentive  examination 
can  reveal  fraud. 

At  a  seance,  I  was  one  day  shown  the  impression  in 
some  plastic  substance  of  a  small  death's  head  ;  a  young 
man  presented  it  to  me  as  an  authentic  impression.  This 
appeared  abnormal  to  me,  for  a  death's  head  is  not  a 
common  thing  in  serious  seances,  and  for  my  part  I 
have  never  seen  a  repugnant  or  painful  phenomenon. 
An  attentive  examination  revealed  to  me  traces  of  the 
finger-tips,  which  had  held  the  object  while  it  was  being 
pressed  on  the  plastic  substance. 

At  another  seance  at  which  I  was  present,  one  of  the 
experimenters  prepared  some  plates  of  cement.  He 
placed  them  himself  upon  the  top  of  a  wardrobe.  At 
the  end  of  the  seance  finger-prints  were  found  in  the 
cement.  These  prints  had  been  made  while  the  experi- 
menter was  placing  the  plate  on  the  wardrobe,  and,  of 
course,  normally  made  by  him.  In  these  two  cases,  the 
impressions  were  distinct  and  bore  no  traces  of  woof. 
Therefore,  such  traces  are  not  necessarily  indications  of 
fraud,  since  tricksters  do  not  always  use  material  to 
preserve  themselves  from  stains,  when  they  make  the 
fraudulent  impression. 

As  for  photographs,  I  have  never  obtained  any  para- 
normal ones.  It  is  true  I  have  given  no  attention  to 
this  order  of  experimentation.     I  will  say  nothing  about 

M 


178         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

it  therefore,  since  I  have  no  personal  fact  of  interest 
to  relate  thereon.  The  existence  of  paranormal  photo- 
graphy is  affirmed  by  sincere  and  honourable  men,  and 
their  experiments  deserve  to  be  resumed.  The  method 
of  operating  is  simple.  The  medium  is  photographed  in 
daylight,  when  in  a  state  of  trance  ;  photography  by 
magnesium  light  is  not  to  be  recommended  for  many 
reasons,  chiefly  because  it  renders  fraud  particularly  easy 
of  execution.  Never  use  any  but  your  own  plates, 
never  let  them  out  of  your  possession  for  an  instant, 
change  the  plates  yourself,  expose  and  develop  them 
yourself. 

I  remember  one  of  my  friends,  a  superior  military 
officer,  once  showed  me  some  extraordinary  photographs, 
on  which  we  saw  abnormal  forms  beside  the  medium. 
I  told  my  friend  he  had  been  imposed  upon.  Too 
honest  himself  to  admit  he  could  be  the  victim  of  dis- 
loyal trickery,  the  officer  put  no  faith  in  my  criticisms, 
and  assured  me  that  the  photographs  had  been  taken  by 
himself  with  his  own  camera,  and  declared  he  had  not 
lost  sight  of  the  apparatus  for  a  second.  His  affirma- 
tions did  not  modify  my  opinion.  Later  on,  when  care- 
fully discussing  the  conditions  of  the  experiment,  the 
officer  acknowledged  that  he  had  interrupted  the  seance 
for  lunch,  and  had  left  his  camera  at  the  medium's  house 
in  the  meanwhile. — The  latter  had  taken  advantage  of 
his  absence  either  to  change  the  plates  and  substitute 
exposed  ones,  or  to  make  a  fraudulent  exposure  on  my 
friend's  plates. 

The  author  of  this  fraud  was,  moreover,  obliged  to 
acknowledge  the  imposture.  I  wonder  what  motive  this 
young  man  could  have  had  in  cheating  !     I  believe  he 


LUMINOUS  PHENOMENA  179 

acted  out  of  pure  childishness — having  a  tendency  to 
hysteria. 

In  photography  there  are  several  ways  of  defrauding  ; 
the  most  usual  is  by  double  exposure.  A  shrewd  use  of 
sulphite  of  quinine  permits  of  certain  curious  operations, 
it  appears.     I  have  not  verified  this. 


i8o         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


.       CHAPTER   V 

PSYCHO-SENSORY    AND    INTELLECTUAL 
PHENOMENA 

Under  this  somewhat  vague  title  I  am  bringing  certain 
facts  together,  which  differ  greatly  from  those  I  have 
been  examining.  In  reality,  the  facts  so  far  related  by 
me  refer  to  material  manifestations,  and  it  was  merely 
as  an  accessory,  that  I  pointed  out  the  intelligent  character 
some  of  these  manifestations  presented.  I  will  now 
describe  the  means  best  adapted  for  obtaining  not  physical 
but  intellectual  phenomena,  properly  so-called  ;  that  is  to 
say,  phenomena  which  are  interesting  solely  because  of 
the  ideas  expressed,  or  because  of  the  signification  of  the 
images  produced,  and  not  at  all  because  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  are  obtained. 

1  have  studied  this  category  of  phenomena  with  less 
interest  than  sonorous,  motor  or  luminous  phenomena, 
where  observation  is  relatively  simple.  Intellectual 
phenomena  can  only  be  studied  indirectly,  and  in  order 
to  verify  them,  we  are  generally  obliged  to  trust  to  the 
statement  of  a  third  person.  I  think  these  are  bad 
conditions  of  observation.  This  reserve  made,  I  will 
divide  these  phenomena  into  two  wide  categories : — 

1 .  Sensory  automatism. 

2.  Motor  automatism. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        i8i 

I.    SENSORY    AUTOMATISM 

I  thus  designate  phenomena  produced  by  the  spon- 
taneous activity  of  our  senses,  and  which  do  not  appear 
to  be  due  to  exterior  excitation.  They  border  on 
hallucination.  They  are  observed  in  the  different  sensory 
spheres.  I  will  only  examine  olfactory,  auditory,  and 
visual  sensations  ;  tactile  impressions  were  studied  in  the 
last  chapter.  As  for  gustatory  sensations,  they  are  very 
rare  and  without  interest. 

(a)  Olfactory  sensations. — These  consist  of  a  special 
odour.  I  have  never  observed  any  in  the  seances  at 
which  I  have  been  present.  In  one  series,  however, 
the  medium  associated  the  odour  of  Jasmine  with  the 
manifestation  of  certain  personifications.  To  me  this 
sensation  seemed  to  be  purely  subjective  ;  it  was 
constant. 

An  odour  of  ozone  is  often  perceived  after  luminous 
phenomena  have  been  obtained,  a  fact  which  ought  to  be 
borne  in  mind.  It  may  be  compared  with  the  odour 
of  ozone,  perceived  in  the  vicinity  of  powerful  static 
machines,  which  give  off^  electricity  at  very  high  potentiality. 
Here  is  an  analogy  which  is,  perhaps,  not  altogether 
fortuitous  ;  these  facts,  however,  are  unintelligible. 

(J?)  Auditory  sensations. — I  do  not  speak  of  sonorous 
phenomena.  I  now  enter  directly  into  the  study  of 
intellectual  phenomena,  that  is  to  say,  phenomena  having 
a  signification  more  or  less  precise  and  intelligible. 

Auditory  phenomena  may  be  divided  into  two  cate- 
gories :  provoked  automatisms,  and  spontaneous  auto- 
matisms or  dairaudience.  The  first  may  be  considered 
as    hallucinations    induced    by   diverse    methods.      The 


1 82        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

simplest  method  consists  in  the  use  of  certain  shells, 
horns,  trumpets,  or,  in  a  word,  any  object  capable  of 
augmenting  and  allowing  the  perception  of  those  external 
or  internal  sounds,  which  are  not  usually  perceptible 
to  the  hearing.  This  is  what  is  observed  particularly 
with  some  sea-shells.  When  we  apply  them  to  the  ear, 
we  hear  a  murmur  or  a  slight  rumbling  sound.  This 
sensation  is  common  to  every  one,  and  children  are 
accustomed  to  play  at  *  listening  to  the  sound  of  the  sea 
in  the  sea-shells.' 

Some  people  do  not  hear  this  sound,  or  rather,  when 
they  listen,  it  quickly  disappears  and  makes  way  for 
words  and  phrases.  I  know  a  subject  with  whom  this 
faculty  exists,  but  circumstances,  unfortunately,  have 
prevented  me  from  studying  him  carefully.  I  point 
out,  to  the  attention  of  observers,  the  interest  which 
this  automatism  presents  ;  the  rapidity  of  communica- 
tion is  very  great ;  in  this  way  there  is  a  greater  output 
than  with  automatic  writing,  and  it  is  less  tiring  for  the 
sensitive.  The  only  precaution  to  observe  is  to  take 
down  all  he  says  in  shorthand.  We  must  accustom  him 
to  repeat,  instantly,  everything  he  hears,  because  words 
heard  in  this  way  are  speedily  forgotten — as  in  dream — 
but  amnesia  is  not  the  sole  point  of  resemblance  between 
this  automatism  and  dream.  It  has  much  analogy  with 
visual  automatism,  but  it  has  an  interesting  advantage 
over  the  latter.  Visual  images  are  those  which  offer  the 
highest  degree  of  symbolism  ;  they  are  vague,  wanting  in 
precision,  and  require  interpretation.  Auditory  hallucin- 
ations, on  the  contrary,  have  greater  precision.  Perhaps 
this  is  due  to  language,  the  usual  manner  in  which 
auditory  images  are  revealed.     On  the  other  hand,  they 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       183 

are    not    so    rich,    and    contain   less    detail    than    visual 
images  do. 

The  meaning  of  auditory  messages  is  seldom  very 
clear  ;  but  there  are  cases  where  it  is  wonderfully  so. 
Such  are  the  chief  features  of  provoked  auditory  pheno- 
mena. I  have  given  too  little  attention  to  this  phase  of 
manifestation,  to  be  able  to  enter  into  a  more  complete 
analysis  of  it. 

Clairaudience  is  more  frequent ;  perhaps  this  is  due  to 
the  negligence  of  experimenters,  who  do  not  think  of 
using  the  methods  of  induction  I  have  just  described. 

I  have  rarely  observed  the  existence  of  isolated 
auditory  hallucinations  ;  I  have  always  observed  them 
associated  with  visual  hallucinations  ;  therefore  I  will 
study  them  after  these  last,  when  examining  mixed 
phenomena. 

{c)  Visual  sensations. — Observable,  visual  phenomena 
are  very  numerous,  and  have  already  been  the  object  of 
exhaustive  studies.  I  will  again  divide  these  into  pro- 
voked and  spontaneous  phenomena.  Of  course,  I  am 
speaking  of  hallucinations  experienced  by  sensitives  out 
of  seance  hours.  In  this  part  of  my  analysis,  I  am 
replacing  the  word  medium  by  the  word  sensitive^  which 
seems  to  me  to  define  more  correctly  the  distinguishing 
features,  of  those  persons  who  have  the  faculties  I  am 
going  to  describe.  This  word  conveys  the  correct 
idea,  that  the  facts  observed  belong  to  the  sphere  of 
sensibility. 

One  of  the  oldest  known  methods  of  inducing  visual 
hallucination  is  the  use  of  a  crystal  ball.  I  have  no  need 
to  recall  to  mind  the  practices  of  former  fortune-tellers, 
nor  the  history  of  John  Dee,  nor  the  numerous  recitals 


1 84         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

handed  down  to  us  by  ancient  chroniclers,  novelists,  etc. 
The  crystal  ball  and  the  black  mirror  are  the  best 
methods  ;  but  the  ordinary  mirror,  a  glass  of  water,  a 
decanter,  a  shoemaker's  wooden  ball,  the  finger-nail,  the 
watch-glass,  any  polished  surface,  in  fact,  may  serve  to 
induce  hallucination  ;  but  I  only  recommend  the  first 
methods — they  are  certainly  the  best ;  a  glass  of  water, 
a  decanter,  a  syphon  of  seltzer-water,  the  thumb-nail, 
polished  surfaces,  etc.,  may  serve  to  induce  hallucination, 
but  these  last  methods  only  succeed  with  very  highly 
sensitive  subjects. 

I  have  carefully  studied  crystal-gazing,  and  though  I 
have  remarked  individual  differences  in  each  sensitive, 
I  think  I  may  say  that,  as  far  as  working  methods  are 
concerned,  I  have  come  to  the  following  conclusions  : — 

The  material  of  which  the  object  is  composed  is  not 
a  matter  of  indifference.  Balls  of  rock-crystal  have 
given  me  the  best  results.  I  have  seen  people,  incapable 
of  receiving  visions  with  ordinary  glass,  obtain  them  in 
a  tiny  ball  of  natural  crystal.  Objects  in  rock-crystal 
have  the  inconvenience  of  being  very  expensive. 

Ordinary  glass  gives  good  results,  but  care  should  be 
taken  that  the  ball  contains  no  air  bubbles  or  other 
defects.     They  must  be  as  homogeneous  as  possible. 

The  ball  may  be  spherical  or  egg-shaped.  I  think 
the  elliptical  form  is,  perhaps,  the  best ;  reflections  are 
more  easily  avoided  with  this  shape. 

The  size  is  a  matter  of  indifference  ;  personally,  I 
prefer  rather  large  balls.  I  have,  nevertheless,  obtained 
just  as  good  results  with  balls  of  only  one  centimetre  in 
diameter  as  with  balls  of  six  or  seven  centimetres  in 
diameter. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        185 

The  crystal  may  be  white,  blue,  violet,  yellow,  green ; 
it  may  be  opalescent  or  transparent ;  but,  I  think,  the 
best  results  are  obtained  with  white  transparent  balls  ; 
blue  or  amethyst  coloured  crystals  are  also  very  good, 
and  tire  the  eyes  less  than  others.^ 

When  looking  into  the  ball,  it  should  be  sheltered 
from  reflection,  as  it  should  ofi^er  a  uniform  tint,  with- 
out any  brilliant  points.  To  obtain  this  result,  it  may 
be  enveloped  in  a  piece  of  dark  foulard  or  velvet,  or 
held  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand,  or  even  at  the  finger- 
tips, provided  the  conditions  mentioned  above  have  been 
observed.  The  object  ought  to  be  placed  within  the  range 
of  normal  vision  ;  the  gaze  should  not  be  directed  on 
to  the  surface  of  the  crystal,  but  in  the  crystal  itself.  The 
knack  of  gazing  inside  the  crystal  is  speedily  acquired. 

Mirrors  also  give  very  good  results.  They  can  be 
made  like  ordinary  mirrors,  or  black  like  the  famous 
mirrors  of  Bhatta,  which  are  made  of  a  special  com- 
position. Sensitives  say  that  the  mirror  should  not 
reflect  anything  :  it  should  present  a  uniform  tint,  e.g, 
that  of  the  sky,  blue  or  grey,  but  without  the  mixture  of 
these  colours  as  would  be  the  case  with  a  cloudy  sky  ;  in  a 
room  the  ceiling  may  be  reflected,  if  it  be  monochrome. 

Under  these  conditions  of  operation   I    have    some- 

^  As  crystal-gazing  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most  curious  phenomena  to 
study,  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning  that  well-made  crystal  balls  may 
be  found  at  Leymarie,  42  Rue  Saint-Jacques,  Paris  j  at  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research,  20  Hanover  Square,  London,  W.  j  or  Mrs.  Venman, 
Sugden  Road,  Lavender  Hill,  London,  S.W.  The  price  of  the  globes 
varies  from  6s.  to  9s.  ;  those  of  ovoids,  from  8s.  to  los.  The  best  thing 
to  do  would  be  to  look  for  a  ball  in  rock-crystal,  the  price  of  which  would 
vary  from  4s.  to  ,^8.  They  must  be  cut  to  order,  for  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  find  any  ready  made.     M.  Servan,  jeweller  at  Bordeaux,  furnishes  good 


1 86         METAPSYCHICAL^  PHENOMENA 

times  observed  results  so  extraordinary,  as  to  confound 
the  imagination.  They  appeared  to  me  to  tend  towards 
demonstrating  Kant's  idea  of  the  relativity  and  contin- 
gency of  time  and  space.  It  is  very  difficult  to  admit, 
that  these  two  ordinates  of  our  perceptions  are  exactly 
what  they  seem  to  be,  unless  we  push  the  theory  of 
coincidence  to  the  absurd.  But  this  would  be  shutting 
the  door  on  all  discussion,  and  on  all  intelligent  exami- 
nation of  a  fact  apparently  abnormal. 

My  observations  have  been  made  with  different 
persons,  and  a  great  many  have  been  pointed  out  to  me. 
Sensitives,  possessing  the  faculty  of  seeing  in  the  crystal, 
are  not  rare.  The  analysis  of  the  facts  I  have  observed, 
or  of  which  I  hold  first-hand  reports,  allows  me  to  class 
these  'hallucinations  '  (?)  under  six  categories  of  increasing 
interest : — 

y^.  Imagination — images,  ordinary  hallucination. 

B.  Forgotten  souvenirs,  recalled  to  memory  in  the 
form  of  visions. 

C.  Passed  events,  of  which  the  sensitive  affirms  to 
have  always  been  ignorant. 

D.  Present  events,  certainly  unknown  to  the  sensi- 
tive. 

E.  Future  events. 

F.  Facts  of  doubtful  interpretation. 

This  grouping  shows  the  curious  gradation  observed 
in  these  visions.  First  of  all,  disorderly  and  illogical 
activity  as  in  dreams  ;  then,  more  orderly  activity : 
knowledge  of  forgotten  facts,  knowledge  of  past  events 
unknown  to  the  sensitive,  knowledge  of  present  events 
unknown  to  the  sensitive,  apparent  prescience.  I  will 
give  some  examples. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       187 

A.  Imagination — images  are  by  far  the  most  frequent. 
This  phenomenon  is  analogous  to  ordinary  visual  hallu- 
cination, and  seems  to  me  to  present  the  characteristic 
features  of  dream.  This  is  hardly  the  place  to  discuss 
the  state  of  consciousness  during  dream  ;  for  the  form 
I  am  giving  my  recital  would  not  bear  any  long  psycho- 
logical analyses.  I  will  simply  confine  myself  to  resuming 
the  conclusions  of  the  detailed  analysis,  which  I  made 
in  a  work  dealing  with  this  subject. 

The  consciousness  which  works  habitually  in  us,  that 
which  is  manifested  in  our  everyday  life,  is  the  personal 
consciousness.  It  is  around  this  that  are  grouped  the 
souvenirs  accessible  to  our  normal  personality,  to  that 
part  of  ourselves  which  we  call  *  I.*  This  personal  con- 
sciousness asserts  itself  in  the  highest  acts  of  the  psychic 
life,  in  the  comparison  of  images  one  with  another,  in 
abstraction,  judgment,  and  the  voluntary  selection  of  acts, 
which  appear  to  us  equally  possible.  This  selection  is 
the  expression  of  our  voluntary  activity,  personally  con- 
scious ;  it  is  determined  by  the  comparison  of  acts 
between  themselves,  by  the  examination  of  their  pro- 
bable advantageous  or  disadvantageous  consequences,  by 
the  appreciation  of  their  morality  or  immorality,  accord- 
ing to  the  social  laws  of  the  day,  etc.  Personal  con- 
sciousness is  the  foundation  of  all  our  intelligent  life  ; 
practically,  it  alone  appears  to  exist,  and  its  disappear- 
ance seems  to  us  to  annihilate  our  own  personality. 

In  reality,  such  is  not  the  case.  With  certain  invalids, 
complete  or  partial  modifications  of  the  personal  con- 
sciousness may  be  observed.  Sometimes  the  notion  of 
personality  disappears.  There  are  patients  who  suddenly 
forget  everything,  even  to  their  own  name.     AU  their 


1 88         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

antecedent  life  is  effaced,  and  they  appear  to  return  to 
the  state  they  were  in  at  birth.  They  have  to  learn 
again  how  to  speak,  to  eat,  and  to  dress  themselves. 
,  Sometimes  the  amnesia  is  not  so  complete.  I  have  been 
able  to  observe  a  patient,  who  had  forgotten  everything 
which  had  any  connection  whatever  with  his  own 
personality.  He  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  all  he  had 
ever  done,  did  not  remember  where  he  was  born,  who 
his  parents  were,  or  what  his  name  was.  He  was  thirty 
years  of  age. 

Organic  memory  and  memories  organised  apart  from 
the  personality  subsisted.  He  could  read,  write,  draw, 
and  displayed  a  certain  amount  of  musical  talent. 
Amnesia,  with  him,  was  limited  to  all  facts  connected  with 
his  antecedent  personality  ;  it  presented  the  type  of 
systematised  losses  of  memory.  This  is  what  is  called 
in  medical  phraseology  amnesie  de  depersonnalisation. 

In  a  lesser  degree,  amnesia  only  affects  limited  periods 
of  life.  Epileptics  and  hysterics  often  present  the 
phenomenon  of  ecmnesidy  a  term  chosen  by  the  eminent 
professor  of  clinical  medicine  at  the  university  of  Bor- 
deaux, M.  Pitres,  who  was  the  first  to  point  out  this 
phenomenon  with  hysterical  subjects.  The  patient 
forgets  a  part  of  his  life,  believes  he  is  ten,  fifteen,  thirty 
years  younger  than  he  really  is,  and  behaves  as  though 
he  were  at  the  age  he  thinks  he  is.  The  souvenirs  of 
his  ulterior  life  cease  to  be  accessible  to  his  conscious 
personality,  which  finds  itself  brought  back  exclusively 
to  the  elements  which  constituted  it,  at  the  time  the 
ecmnesia  carries  him  to.  Every  idea,  foreign  to  that 
diminished  personality,  remains  unintelligible  to  him.  In 
order  to  make  him  understand,  we  must  speak  to  him 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        189 

only  of  what  he  knew  at  the  epoch  to  which  he  has  been 
brought  back. 

Besides  these  disappearances  or  amoindrissements  de  la 
personnalite  of  the  personal  consciousness,  which  may  be 
permanent  or  transitory,  we  also  observe  qualitative 
without  quantitative  alterations  of  the  personal  conscious- 
ness. These  are  changes  or  variations  of  personality, 
which  have  been  well  studied  in  hysterical  subjects,  but 
which  also  exist  in  other  invalids,  notably  epileptics  and 
victims  of  certain  poisons.-^ 

To  sum  up,  the  personal  consciousness  is  susceptible 
of  total  or  partial  disappearance,  or  of  being  replaced  by 
another  consciousness  which  can  be  absolutely  foreign  to 
the  normal  personal  consciousness,  or  preserve  more  or 
less  close  relationship  with  it,  e.g.  the  patient  who  under- 
goes a  change  of  personality  may  retain  all  the  souvenirs 
of  the  normal  personality  A  and  those  of  the  new 
personality  B.  But  in  an  almost  absolute  manner  the 
normal  personality  A  is  ignorant  of  all  which  concerns 
B.     This  is  the  type  of  periodical  amnesia. 

The  clinical  study  of  diseases  of  personality  permits 
observation  of  the  above  facts.  1  ought  to  say  that,  in 
practice,  they  do  not  present  the  simplicity  of  the  schema 
which  I  have  just  given.  Curious  problems  arise  from 
the  nature  itself  of  amnesia,  its  degree,  its  mechanism, 
problems  impossible  to  treat  here. 

But  the  facts  I  have  summarily  exposed  already  reveal 
an  important  truth,  which    curable,   transitory   amnesia 

1  Interested  readers  will  find  a  complete  analysis  of  these  facts  in  Azam^s 
celebrated  work,  Hypnotisme  et  double  conscience^  Alcan  j  in  Pitres'  book, 
Lemons  sur  Vhysterie^  Alcan  j  and  in  Janet's  V automatisme  fsychologique, 
Alcan.  It  is  essential  to  know  at  least  these  three  books,  if  we  wish  to 
observe,  profitably,  the  delicate  phenomena  I  am  discussing  in  this  chapter. 


I90         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

clearly  demonstrates  :  this  is,  that  souvenirs  can  exist  in 
a  latent  state  in  the  general  consciousness,  and  be  in- 
accessible to  the  personal  consciousness.  Let  us  suppose 
that  A  forgets  the  ten  previous  years  of  his  life — the 
result  of  a  fall  or  nervous  crisis.  This  amnesia  will 
perhaps  last  for  six  months,  during  which  period  he  will 
believe  himself  to  have  returned  to  the  age  of  fifteen, 
when  he  is  really  twenty-five.  All  the  events  of  his  life 
between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-five  will  have 
entirely  disappeared  from  his  memory  for  six  months  ; 
then  they  will,  more  or  less  abruptly,  reappear.  Their 
temporary  disappearance  clearly  shows  that  these  souvenirs 
have  been  preserved  somewhere,  and  that  they  were  not 
really  lost.  We  cannot  affirm  that  they  were  accessible 
to  the  general  and  impersonal  consciousness  in  every 
case ;  but  nevertheless  we  can  affirm  it  for  hysteria, 
according  to  the  observations  of  Pitres,  Janet,  and 
others  ;  and,  according  to  Regis,  for  certain  poisons. 
The  facts  studied  by  these  savants  show,  that  souvenirs 
inaccessible  to  the  normal  personality  were  known  to  the 
general  consciousness.  For  example,  an  amnesic  patient 
can  recover  all  his  souvenirs  when  he  is  put  to  sleep  ; 
this  is  what  Regis  has  demonstrated  even  in  certain  cases 
of  amnesia  from  blood-poisoning.  Janet,  on  his  side, 
has  established  that  these  souvenirs,  forgotten  by  the 
personal  consciousness,  can  be  evoked  by  certain  auto- 
matisms (notably  automatic  writing),  and  are  therefore 
at  the  disposition  of  the  impersonal  consciousness,  that  is 
to  say,  of  that  general  consciousness  of  which  personal 
consciousness  seems  to  be  only  a  part. 

This  fact,  which  the  study  of  nervous  pathology  has 
demonstrated,    is    certainly    general.     The    troubles   of 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       191 

hysteria  and  other  nervous  diseases  only  exaggerate  a 
normal  phenomenon.  Our  personality  does  not  burden 
itself  with  all  the  souvenirs,  which  our  general  conscious- 
ness appears  to  possess  :  the  greater  part  of  the  things 
we  have  seen,  learned,  heard,  etc.,  are  forgotten  ;  but 
this  forgetfulness  is  probably  relative,  and  only  extends 
to  the  personal  consciousness.  It  is  also  variable,  and, 
according  to  circumstances,  the  souvenirs  accumulated  in 
the  general  consciousness  are  at  one  time  more  accessible 
to  the  personal  consciousness,  and  less  so  at  another 
time.  If  the  personal  memory  be  over-excited,  exalte^ 
we  have  hypermnesia.  The  facts  which  spring  up  in  the 
personal  consciousness  have  been  so  completely  forgotten 
by  it  that  they  sometimes  appear  to  be  new ;  souvenirs 
present  themselves  to  the  consciousness  without  being 
identified  by  it,  and  we  commit  errors  on  the  localisation 
of  the  mnesic  image  in  time  and  space  ;  this  is  what  we 
call  paramnesia. 

The  variations  of  the  personal  consciousness  relative 
to  memory,  whose  role  in  the  constitution  of  the  person- 
ality of  the  self  is  preponderant,  are  therefore  translated 
clinically  by  amnesias,  hypermnesiae,  paramnesias  ;  but  the 
variations  pointed  out  are  not  limited  to  memory,  they 
extend  to  other  operations  of  the  mind.  I  indicated 
just  now,  that  the  personal  consciousness  was  only  a  facet 
of  that  more  general  consciousness  existing  in  us,  a  con- 
sciousness where  all  antecedent  experiences  are  piled  up, 
where  all  our  sensations  are  registered,  be  our  personal 
consciousness  aware  or  unaware  of  them.  This  general 
consciousness  is  in  itself  impersonal,  at  least  in  relation 
to  our  normal  personality.  This  latter  is  only  one  of 
the    currents  which  circulate  in   that  consciousness,  its 


102         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

preponderance,  as  Myers  has  indicated,  is  probably  only 
a  consequence  of  its  greater  practical  utility  in  daily  life, 
and  not  an  indication  of  its  absolute  superiority  ;  but 
there  is  one  thing  to  point  out,  this  is  that  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  connect  with  that  personal  consciousness  all 
the  operations  of  our  usual  intelligence.  Our  reasonings, 
volitions,  judgments,  whatever  they  may  be,  are  grouped 
around  our  conscious  personality,  or  rather  are  founded 
upon  its  apparent  activity.  The  consequence  is,  that 
every  time  the  sentiment  of  personality  in  the  conscious- 
ness varies,  our  reasonings,  volitions,  and  judgments  will 
vary  in  the  same  proportion.  Thoughts  which  come  to 
us  will  cease  to  be  chosen  by  us,  and  will  apparently 
come  of  their  own  accord  ;  their  associations  will  escape 
all  logic,  their  succession  will  be  rapid  and  incoherent  for 
our  personality,  which  will  look  on  at  their  evolution 
powerless  to  direct  it.  The  weakening  of  the  sentiment 
of  personal  participation,  in  the  acts  of  the  psychical  life, 
is  then  translated  by  the  diminution  of  our  faculty  to 
choose  the  images  evoked  in  the  consciousness,  by  the 
diminution  of  our  power  of  control  over  their  evolution, 
by  the  helplessness  in  which  we  are,  not  only  to  judge 
them  according  to  the  rules  of  reason,  but  also  to  reject 
the  most  illogical  interpretations,  which  offer  themselves 
to  us  or  impose  themselves  upon  us.  In  a  word,  the 
weakening  of  the  will,  of  the  judgment,  is  associated 
with  that  of  the  personal  consciousness. 

We  also  observe  a  corresponding  attenuation  in  the 
faculty  of  abstraction.  Ideas  are  accompanied  by  their 
pictured  or  motor  representations.  Sometimes  they  are 
only  expressed  by  pictures,  and  are  presented  in  a 
symbolical  form,  or  are  dramatised  ;  e.g.  the  idea  of  the 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       193 

death  of  a  relative  will  not  be  expressed  with  precision, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case  in  verbal  or  written  hallucina- 
tions, but  by  a  picture  representing  the  relation  in  a 
coffin,  or  depicting  his  burial. 

Such  are  the  psychological  expressions  of  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  personal  element  in  the  consciousness. 

We  must  not  conclude,  therefrom,  that  the  impersonal 
consciousness  is  incapable  of  intelligent  operation.  No 
such  thing  ;  and  events  prove  that  the  impersonal  or 
subliminal  consciousness  is  capable  of  accomplishing, 
with  great  perfection,  the  most  complicated  intellectual 
acts,  without  the  personal  consciousness  being  aware  of  it. 
In  these  cases,  when  the  result  of  the  operation  is  trans- 
mitted to  the  personal  consciousness,  this  latter  perceives 
it  under  the  symbolical  or  dramatical  form  I  pointed  out. 

Observation  shows,  that  all  the  features  I  have  just 
described  as  being  met  with  in  cases  where  participation 
of  the  personal  consciousness  with  our  mental  or  physical 
activity  is  diminished,  are  to  be  found  in  hallucination 
and  in  dreams.^ 

I  beg  to  be  excused  for  this  digression  ;  it  was  in- 
dispensable in  order  to  develop,  in  a  comprehensive 
manner,  the  analogies  which  are  presented  between 
dreams  and  hallucinations  provoked  by  crystal-gazing, 
and  the  transcendental  character  which  these  visions  can 
present,  without  being,  however,  supernatural.  These 
considerations  set  forth,  I  arrive  at  the  recital  of  some 
facts  I  have  observed. 

The  way  in  which  imagination-images  or  hallucina- 

1  Readers,  interested  to  know  my  ideas  on  this  point,  will  find  them  more 
extensively  developed  in  my  book,  V Amnesie  et  les  troubles  de  la  conscience 
dans  Vipileps'te. 

N 


194         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

tlons  are  induced,  with  most  of  the  sensitives  I  have 
examined,  is  nearly  always  the  same.  I  will  describe  it, 
pointing  out  at  the  same  time  that  the  formation  of  the 
hallucinatory  image  is  the  same  in  nearly  every  case,  be 
the  visual  impression  imaginary,  or  be  it  the  expression 
of  a  true  fact,  past,  present,  or  future. 

I  have  shown  how  to  hold  the  crystal,  and  how  to 
look  at  it.  The  sensitive,  having  fixed  his  eyes  on  the 
crystal  for  a  few  seconds  or  minutes — the  time  varies 
according  to  individuals — sees  an  opalescent,  milky  tint 
come  over  the  crystal.  I  know  a  sensitive, — an  intelli- 
gent and  well-educated  lady — who  compares  this  im- 
pression, to  that  produced  on  the  eye  by  rising  mists  and 
fleeting  clouds.  For  her,  the  milky  tint  in  the  crystal  is 
in  movement.  It  breaks  away  like  a  cloud  or  mist,  to 
disclose  the  hallucinatory  image  completely  formed.  To 
another  sensitive,  the  cloud  appears  first  of  all  immobile, 
and  then  becomes  condensed  into  grey  forms,  which 
gradually  become  coloured  and  mobile.  This  sensitive 
enters  so  completely  into  the  hallucination,  that,  as  a 
rule,  he  thinks  he  is  transported  to  the  landscape  he  is 
gazing  at ;  he  has  not  only  a  hallucination  of  sight,  but 
a  hallucination  of  all  the  senses.  Most  people  see 
the  image  in  the  crystal,  but  believe  they  see  it  life-size. 
The  dimension  of  the  crystal  has  no  influence  on  the 
apparent  dimension  of  the  image  ; — at  least,  this  is  what 
I  have  nearly  always  remarked. 

What  I  say  of  the  mode  of  induction  of  the  image  in 
the  crystal  can  be  applied  to  any  other  mode  of  induc- 
tion— mirror,  glass  of  water,  decanter,  etc. 

The  cause  of  the  vision  is  sometimes  an  association  of 
ideas  or  images,  which   is   easy   to  trace.     Here  is  an 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA      195 

example :  I  was  once  in  a  spiritistic  group,  and  among 
those  present  were  several  sensitives  presenting  sub- 
conscious or  paraconscious  automatisms,  with  the  features 
of  ordinary  somnambulism.  I  begged  one  young  girl,  of 
about  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  old,  to  look  into  a  white 
crystal  ball  of  four  centimetres  in  diameter.  Almost 
without  transition  she  saw  goldfish  in  the  ball.  Every 
one  knows  the  spherical  bowls  in  which  goldfish  are 
put ;  as  it  happened,  there  was  a  bowl  of  this  kind  in  the 
room.  The  idea  of  a  transparent  bowl  was  naturally 
associated  with  that  of  goldfish ;  this  subconscious 
association  provoked  the  visual  image  of  the  fish.  Facts 
of  this  kind  are  the  simplest  ;  their  psychological 
mechanism  is  easy  to  penetrate  ;  the  associations  of 
images  are  almost  logical,  and  their  dreamlike  character 
is  scarcely  marked.  In  the  above  case,  the  impossibility 
of  placing  the  fish  in  a  crystal  ball  is  not  perceived  by 
the  consciousness,  which  suffers  the  succession  of  images 
empirically  associated  ;  the  globe  of  water  containing  the 
fish  resembled  in  its  form  and  aspect  the  transparent 
glass  ball  ;  therefore,  the  latter  evoked  the  image  of  the 
former,  and  the  fish  which  it  contained.  This  associa- 
tion is  very  intelligible. 

Here  is  another  example  borrowed  from  experiments 
I  made  with  a  remarkable  sensitive — the  one  with  whom 
the  hallucination  becomes  generalised.  This  person, 
looking  in  the  crystal,  perceived  a  railway-station,  and 
saw  portmanteaux  in  the  luggage-room.  He  then 
plunged  right  into  the  dream,  and  imagined  he  was 
going  to  take  away  his  own  portmanteau  ;  he  entered 
the  luggage-room,  took  his  trunk  and  opened  it.  It 
contained  a  particularly  horrible  dead  body,  which  leaped 


196         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

out  of  the  portmanteau,  and  bitterly  complained  of 
being  disturbed.  It  threw  itself  upon  the  sensitive,  who 
immediately  fled,  pursued  by  the  dead  body.  After  a 
desperate  chase,  the  sensitive  darted  into  a  road  which 
crossed  a  park.  This  park,  in  reality,  is  situated  at  more 
than  six  hundred  miles  from  the  railway-station,  where 
he  believed  he  saw  the  portmanteaux  :  this  distance  had 
disappeared  in  the  vision.  The  dead  body  took  a  cor- 
responding road  ;  the  two  roads  met  on  a  hill,  where 
the  persecutor  made  a  dead  set  at  the  sensitive  ;  the 
latter  fell,  and  the  dead  body  stopped  and  bent  down  to 
strike  him.  The  visionary  gave  him  a  kick  in  the 
stomach,  and  stretched  him  full  length  on  the  ground. 
The  hallucination  then  ceased  abruptly,  and  the  sensitive 
found  himself  back  in  his  room,  in  front  of  the  crystal. 
The  vision  was  so  intense,  that  he  was  still  upset  with 
fright,  and  breathless  from  running. 

This  hallucination  is  of  a  dreamlike  character,  and 
reminds  one  of  certain  kinds  of  delirium.  I  have  often 
questioned  the  sensitive  carefully,  in  order  to  try  to 
reconstitute  the  psychological  elements  of  his  hallucina- 
tions, and  for  this  particular  hallucination,  as  I  have 
related  it,  I  will  indicate  the  result  of  my  inquiry  : — 

1.  The  sensitive  has  often  seen  dead  bodies.  He  is 
not  afraid  of  them ;  he  feels  no  repugnance  even  when 
touching  them. 

2.  He  has  travelled  a  great  deal,  but  has  no  souvenir 
of  any  connection  whatever  between  his  portmanteau 
and  dead  bodies,  except  the  associations  which  stories  of 
the  nature  of  the  GoufFe  affair  may  evoke. ^ 

1  A  lawyer  who  was  murdered,  and  whose  dead  body,  much  hacked  about, 
was  found  in  a  trunk  in  the  luggage-room  of  a  railway-station  in  France. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        197 

3.  The  chase  occurred  at  a  spot  known  to  the  sensi- 
tive, who  had,  as  it  happened,  gone,  one  day,  to  that 
very  spot  on  a  walking  expedition  with  one  of  his 
friends,  under  some  conditions  recalling  tho^e  of  the 
hallucination,  notably  the  choice  of  different  roads  ;  the 
two  roads  corresponded  and  met  as  in  the  vision. 

4.  He  did  not  fall,  and  has  no  conscious  souvenir, 
which  can  explain  his  struggle  with  the  dead  body. 

This  curious  hallucination  shows  us  an  admixture  of 
true  images  and  fantastic  images,  these  latter,  however, 
composed  of  real  elements.  The  duration  of  this  halluci- 
nation, so  full  of  events,  was  very  short.  This  is  another 
feature  observed  in  dreams.  We  see  here  the  trace  of 
queer  associations,  some  explicable,  others  not  so.  The 
idea  of  a  railway-station  awakens  that  of  portmanteaux  ; 
that  of  the  dead  body  is  already  abnormal,  but  com- 
prehensible, the  sensitive  being  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  contemporary  criminal  literature  to  know  of  the 
Gouffe  affair.  The  leap  of  the  dead  body  out  of  the 
valise,  the  flight  of  the  sensitive,  and  the  pursuit  of  the 
dead  body  after  him,  are  abnormal  associations.  The 
first  is  difficult  to  explain  ;  the  flight  and  pursuit  are 
more  easily  explained.  The  first  of  these  ideas  naturally 
suggests  the  second.  The  idea  of  pursuit  awakens  the 
idea  of  running  ;  this,  in  its  turn,  awakens  the  idea  of 
the  place  where  the  sensitive  has  really  run  a  race ;  and, 
notwithstanding  its  illogism,  that  association  is  accepted, 
though  the  railway-station,  where  the  scene  begins,  be 
more  than  six  hundred  miles  from  the  park  where  the 
chase  takes  place. 

All  these  associations  bear  the  characteristic  stamp  of 
dreams. 


198         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

B,  Visions   of    past    and    forgotten    facts   present  a 
different  appearance.    The  following  is  an  example  : — The 
sensitive,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  was  asked  to  sing 
one  of  Delmet's  songs.     He  could  not  remember  two 
lines  of  one  of  the  verses,  and  was  obliged  to  pass  them 
over.     I  had  the  curiosity  to  improvise  an  experiment, 
and  I  begged  the  sensitive  to  look  into  a  crystal.     The 
forgotten  lines  were  read  by  him  in  the  crystal.     Facts 
of  this  nature — and  they  are  very  numerous  in  technical 
literature — can  be  explained  by  the  action  of  the  im- 
personal   or    subliminal   consciousness.      The    souvenir 
forgotten  by  the    personal  consciousness  exists    in    the 
general  consciousness,  which  has  need  of  scenic  effects 
in  order  to   transmit  its   message  to  the  personal  con- 
sciousness ;  hence   we  have   sensorial,  automatic,  visual 
activity,  and  the  reading  of  the  forgotten  words,  which 
appear  printed  in  the  crystal.     I  will  not  dwell  upon 
facts  of  this  kind  ;  they  are  so  well  known. 

C.  The  third  category  of  visions  comprises  the 
perception  of  past  events,  which  the  medium  affirms 
never  to  have  known.  It  is  evident  that  these  facts 
can,  in  the  greater  number  of  cases,  come  under  the 
preceding  category,  and  be  but  forgotten  souvenirs. 
But  I  have  reason  to  think  it  is  not  always  so,  and  that 
a  certain  number  of  cases  exists,  in  which  knowledge  of 
the  past  appears  to  be  acquired  in  a  supernormal  manner. 
This  is  only  an  impression,  which  I  draw  from  the  reality 
of  certain  premonitory  facts  observed  by  me. 

As  an  example  of  the  facts  I  am  describing  at  present, 
I  will  cite  the  following  : — 

A    sensitive   one    day   looked   into    the    crystal ;    he 
suddenly  saw  the  words  'Salon  de   1885,' and  a  series 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        199 

of  pictures,  announced  by  their  titles,  passed  before  his 
eyes.  The  pictures,  thus  seen  by  him,  had  really  been 
exhibited  in  the  salon  of  1885.  In  1885  the  sensitive 
was  too  young,  to  have  had  any  personal  knowledge  of 
the  salon  of  that  year  ;  but  nothing  is  easier  than  to 
read  descriptions  of  past  salons,  or  to  procure  repro- 
ductions of  the  pictures  exhibited  there.  The  sensitive, 
whose  good  faith  is  above  suspicion,  affirms  having  no 
conscious  souvenir  of  a  like  reading.  He  believes  he 
has  never  seen  or  read  anything  concerning  the  salon  of 
1885,  but  he  confines  himself  to  affirming  the  non- 
existence of  a  conscious  souvenir.  It  is,  nevertheless, 
possible,  as  he  acknowledges,  that  he  may  have  glanced 
over  a  former  catalogue  or  criticism  without  remember- 
ing it. 

Facts  of  this  kind  are  never  convincing,  for  it  is 
very  difficult  to  know  exactly,  if  the  sensitive  has  ever 
had  knowledge  of  the  fact,  which  emerges  in  the  vision. 
I  cite  the  above  case,  as  an  example  only,  without  pro- 
nouncing an  opinion  on  its  signification. 

D.  I  have  had  no  occasion  of  observing  induced 
hallucinations  representing  a  scene  actually  happening  ; 
at  least,  I  have  never  been  able  to  verify  any  in  a 
satisfactory  manner. 

E.  The  cases  of  premonition  I  have  obtained  are, 
on  the  contrary,  relatively  numerous.  I  have,  personally, 
observed  some  of  them,  and  have  obtained  first-hand  ac- 
counts of  others.    Here  are  my  most  interesting  cases  : — 

I  had  given  a  crystal  to  Monsieur  X.,  a  friend  of 
mine,  who  is  much  interested  in  psychical  researches. 
Madame  X.  has  the  faculty  of  seeing  in  the  crystal,  but 
I  have  never  had  the  opportunity  of  interrogating  her 


200         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

upon  her  visions.  The  fact,  which  her  husband  related 
to  me,  concerns  a  woman  who  is  cashier  in  a  large 
restaurant  at  Bordeaux.  Monsieur  X.,  who  sometimes 
lunches  at  this  restaurant,  one  day  showed  the  crystal 
to  the  cashier  ;  the  latter  looked  into  it  and  saw  therein 
a  small  dog.  She  did  not  recognise  the  dog,  and  the 
vision  appeared  to  have  no  interest.     • 

Shortly  afterwards,  Monsieur  X.  was  again  lunching 
in  the  same  restaurant.  The  cashier  called  him  up  to 
her,  and  told  him  she  was  much  astonished,  because  she 
had  just  received  the  present  of  a  small  dog,  exactly  like 
the  one  she  had  seen  in  the  crystal. 

Another  lady  sometimes  sees  visions  in  a  mirror ; 
these  visions  are  formed  on  the  glass  of  a  wardrobe, 
which  is  placed  facing  a  window,  thus  partly  satisfying 
the  conditions  indicated  further  back.  The  recital,  which 
was  given  me  of  these  visions  by  her  friends,  was 
confirmed  by  the  lady  herself. 

She  saw  a  man  seated  on  the  footpath  of  a  certain 
street,  the  man  was  wounded,  in  a  particular  manner, 
on  the  forehead  ;  a  piece  of  skin  was  torn  away  and  lay 
over  the  eye.  Among  other  details  about  his  costume 
was  a  sack,  which  the  man  had  rolled  round  his  neck  ; 
on  the  sack  the  letters  V.  L.  were  printed.  The  lady, 
in  her  vision,  saw  herself  speak  to  the  wounded  man, 
take  him  to  the  hospital  and  have  his  wound  dressed. 

She  went  out  on  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  met 
the  wounded  man  at  the  spot  she  had  seen  him  the  day 
before,  and  her  vision  came  true  to  the  letter,  even  to 
the  detail  of  the  sack  around  the  neck,  and  the  letters 
which  were  printed  upon  it. 

Another  time  this  lady  perceived,  always  under   the 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       201 

same  conditions,  that  is  in  the  glass  of  the  wardrobe,  one 
of  her  friends,  who  is  married  to  a  government  officer 
abroad,  where  he  is  consul  of  a  sister-power.  This 
lady,  in  the  vision,  appeared  to  be  walking  up  the  street 
Tourny  at  Bordeaux,  just  where  it  opens  out  into  the 
square  Gambetta.  The  details  of  the  costume  were 
noted  by  the  observer  : — a  light  cloak,  and  a  blouse  made 
of  Scotch  plaid  with  gold  trimming  about  the  neck. 
Two  or  three  days  afterwards,  the  percipient  happened 
to  be  in  a  tram.  As  the  tram  arrived  at  the  junction 
of  the  street  Tourny  and  the  square  Gambetta,  she 
perceived  her  friend,  exactly  as  the  vision  had  repre- 
sented her. 

Here  is  another  and  last  example,  still  more  significa- 
tive than  the  preceding,  for  the  vision  was  related  to 
me  eight  days  before  the  event  took  place,  and  I  myself 
had  related  it  to  several  persons  before  its  realisation. 
A  sensitive  perceived  in  a  crystal  the  following  scene  : — 
A  large  steamer,  flying  a  flag  of  three  horizontal  bands, 
black,  white,  and  red,  and  bearing  the  name  Leutschland^ 
navigating  in  mid-ocean  ;  the  boat  was  surrounded 
by  smoke  ;  a  great  number  of  sailors,  passengers  and 
men  in  uniform  rushed  to  the  upper-deck,  and  the 
sensitive  saw  the  vessel  founder. 

Eight  days  afterwards,  the  newspapers  announced  the 
accident  to  the  Deutschland,  whose  boiler  had  burst, 
obliging  the  boat  to  stand  to.  This  vision  is  very 
curious,  and  as  the  details  were  given  me  before  the 
accident,  I  will  analyse  it  with  care. 

In  the  first  place,  one  thing  strikes  us: — The  pre- 
monition was  not  exactly  fulfilled.  The  Beutschland 
met  with   an   accident,  it   is  true  ;   from  the  nature  of 


202         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

that    accident,    it    must    have    been    surrounded   with 
vapour ;  the  crew  and  passengers  would  probably  have 
rushed  to  the  upper-deck  ;  but  happily,  this  magnificent 
vessel  did  not  founder.     On  the  other  hand,  the  sensitive 
read  L  instead  of  D  ;  but  this  detail  is  of  no  importance, 
the    foreign    word    being    probably    badly    deciphered. 
Lastly,   one    thing   worthy  of  noting    is    the    complete 
absence    of  personal    interest    in    this    vision,    for    the 
sensitive   has   no   connection    whatever  with   Germany, 
and  was  ignorant,  at  least  consciously,  of  the  existence 
of  this    boat,    though    he    might   certainly   have    seen 
illustrations  of  it.     Evidently,  we  must  not  attach  too 
much    importance   to    this    premonition,    but   the  same 
sensitive  has  given  me  many  other  curious  examples  of 
the  same  kind  ;  and  these  cases,  compared  with  others 
I  myself  have  observed,  or  with  those  of  which  I  have 
received   first-hand  accounts,  render  the  hypothesis  of 
coincidence  very  improbable,  but  do  not  exclude  it  in 
an   absolute  manner.     Such  as  they  are,  I  think  these 
facts  are  sufficiently  interesting,  for  systematic  observation 
of  the  visual  phenomena  I  point  out  to  be  undertaken 
by    competent    persons,    with    true    sensitives,    and   not 
with  hysterical  subjects^  who  seldom,  if  ever,  give  good 
observations. 

The  facts  of  premonition  which  I  have  observed  or 
controlled,  and  of  which  I  have  just  given  a  few 
examples,  cannot,  I  think,  be  reasonably  regarded  as 
coincidences.  I  have  already  said  that  this  hypothesis, 
without  being  inadmissible,  is  insufficient.  Think  of 
the  immense  proportion  of  probabilities,  which  accumu- 
late in  favour  of  the  reality  of  a  fact,  as  soon  as  the 
details    themselves    accumulate.      The    visions    relative 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       203 

to  the  foreign  friend,  and  to  the  wounded  man,  are 
instructive  from  this  point  of  view,  given  the  great 
number  of  circumstances  seen  beforehand : — exact  locality, 
exact  details  of  the  wound,  the  costume,  etc.  It  is  a 
pity  these  facts  were  not  observed  under  good  conditions. 
That  of  the  Deutschland  is  much  less  demonstrative, 
because  of  the  inaccuracy  in  the  foreseen  issue. 

If  we  compare  these  facts  with  those  which  have  been 
already  registered  by  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
we  will  come  to  a  conclusion,  which  confirms  the  simple 
impression  that  my  own  observations  have  given  birth 
to  in  my  mind.  What  is  the  cause  of  these  pre- 
monitions.'^ What  signification  have  they  with  respect 
to  the  reality  of  time }  Why  do  these  visions  come  to 
people,  who  often  have  no  interest  whatever  in  knowing 
of  them  ?  These  are  all  so  many  questions  I  am  putting, 
without  being  able  to  indicate  their  solution.  We  must 
observe,  with  the  greatest  care,  the  facts  which  are 
presented,  accumulate  them  in  as  great  a  number  as 
possible,  and,  before  considering  their  causes,  be,  first 
of  all,  doubly  sure  of  their  reality. 

I  have  indicated,  further  back,  the  analogy  of  the 
greater  part  of  these  visions  with  dreams.  1  will  point 
out  finally  another  resemblance  which  is,  perhaps,  not 
the  least  interesting.  This  is,  that  these  visions  are 
often  quickly  forgotten.  We  must  make  the  sensitives 
we  observe  write  down  their  visions  immediately  ;  for, 
in  the  greater  number  of  cases,  a  rapid  amnesia  mixes  up 
the  details  and  causes  them  to  disappear.  These  visions, 
therefore,  react  upon  the  memory  in  the  manner  of  dreams. 

T.  Certain  visions  are  of  a  doubtful  character.  Here 
are  some  examples  : — Several  times  a  sensitive  sees,  in  the 


204         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

crystal,  a  long  procession  of  personages  clothed  in  white 
enter  a  sort  of  crypt,  which  looks  like  the  entrance 
to  a  tunnel.  The  vision  presents  no  incoherence,  but 
appears  to  have  no  signification,  either  as  a  souvenir 
evoked  unconsciously  or  as  a  subconscious  symbolical 
image  admitting  of  interpretation. 

And  now,  I  am  going  to  relate  a  vision,  which,  doubt- 
less, will  particularly  interest  occultists.  I  was  operat- 
ing with  a  sensitive,  who  was  ignorant,  I  think,  of  their 
theories  and  those  of  spiritists  ;  who  had  no  notion  what- 
ever about  larvae,  and  the  forms  given  to  such  in  the 
literature  of  occult  sciences.  Now  the  sensitive,  of 
whom  I  speak,  twice  saw  the  vision  of  a  tree  standing  out 
detached  from  the  others  in  a  forest.  The  earth  appeared 
white,  the  tree  itself  was  white,  and  appeared  to  be  covered 
with  white  pears  hanging  from  its  branches.  In  his  vision 
the  sensitive  drew  near,  and  perceived  that  the  pears  were 
in  reality  white  beasts  of  hideous  appearance  ;  they  were 
like  heads  without  bodies,  terminating  in  long  tails. 
These  beings  were  suspended  to  the  branches  by  their 
tails.  This  vision  seems  to  me  to  be  purely  imaginary, 
but  I  have  related  it  because  the  curious  forms  described 
concord,  I  believe,  with  the  aspect  given  to  larvae  by 
occult  writers.  I  cannot  positively  affirm  the  sensitive's 
absolute  ignorance  of  mystic  literature,  but  I  have  serious 
reasons  to  admit  it.  Must  we  simply  see  herein  a  morpho- 
logical association  between  the  different  forms  of  larvae,  of 
tears  embroidered  on  funereal  garb  and  pears  !  This 
explanation  would  be  possible,  if  the  sensitive  knew  the 
signification  of  the  word  larvae,  and  the  form  lent  to 
these  fabulous  beings. 

I  must  now  cut  short  the  recital  of  these  observations. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       205 

and  confine  myself  to  resuming  the  conclusion  to  which 
I  have  come  : — This  is,  that  sensorial  automatisms  and 
especially  visual  hallucinations  have  the  same  characteristic 
features  we  note  in  dreams,  the  same  weakening  of  the 
power  of  control  of  the  will  and  judgment  over  the  selec- 
tion of  images,  over  their  coherence,  their  likelihood, 
and  the  same  rapid  amnesia.  These  are  characteristic 
features,  which  we  observe  in  every  case,  where  the  senti- 
ment of  personality  is  impaired.  This  is  just  as  noticeable 
in  purely  imaginary  hallucinations,  as  in  hallucinations 
which  appear  to  have  a  real  foundation.  This  fact  seems 
to  me  of  great  importance,  for  it  permits  us  to  think,  that 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  transcendental  perception  of 
facts  past,  present  or  even  future  is  the  disappearance  of 
the  voluntary  and  personal  activity  of  the  consciousness. 
Less  fit  to  act  actively,  it  would  be  more  inclined  to  be 
passively  impressed  by  influences,  which  are  at  present 
indeterminable  ;  the  transmission  to  the  normal  conscious- 
ness of  the  impressions  perceived  by  the  impersonal 
consciousness  appears  to  take  place  in  the  same  way  as  in 
a  dream,  that  is  to  say  by  dramatisation, — by  a  scene  which 
expresses  the  idea  in  a  concrete  and  symbolical  manner. 

There  is  therefore  a  rapprochement  between  these  sen- 
sory automatisms  and  dreams  and  telepathy.  Several 
premonitory  dreams  have  been  related  to  me  by  people  of 
absolute  good  faith  ;  I  will  give  two,  which  were  told  me 
by  magistrates.  The  first  concerns  a  man  holding  a  high 
rank  in  the  magistracy.  He  had  sold,  at  an  advantageous 
price,  the  wood  on  a  property  he  possessed  in  the  neigh- 
bouring country,  but  the  bargain  was  not  definitely  settled, 
and  was  to  be  concluded  in  an  interview  arranged  for 
between  the  owner  and  the  purchaser.     On  the  eve  of  the 


2o6         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

day  when  the  magistrate  should  have  gone  to  the  country, 
his  wife  dreamt  that  she  was  present  at  the  woodman's 
visit.  In  her  dream,  the  latter  offered  a  price,  which  was 
inferior  to  the  price  originally  agreed  upon,  and  covered 
his  treachery  with  all  sorts  of  periphrases,  trying  to  prove 
that  the  bargain  remained  excellent  for  the  owner. 
Finally  he  turned  towards  Madame  X.,  who  was  present 
at  the  interview,  and  said  to  her,  *  This  is  fair  speaking, 
is  it  not,  Madame  ? '  Madame  X.  related  the  dream  to 
her  husband,  telUng  him  also  that  she  thought  the  bargain 
would  not  come  off.  Her  dream  was  fulfilled  literally, 
and  the  phrase  heard  in  her  dream  was  uttered  by  the 
woodman.  I  received  this  account  from  the  magistrate 
himself,  an  eminent  man  and  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
intellects  I  have  known. 

The  second  dream  is,  perhaps,  still  more  curious  ;  it 
was  told  me  by  one  of  my  colleagues,  a  calm,  positive 
man  with  not  the  slightest  tendency  whatever  to  mys- 
ticism, employing  his  leisure  hours  in  hunting  rather 
than  with  metaphysics.  He  is,  moreover,  an  experi- 
enced magistrate,  and  occupies  a  distinguished  posi- 
tion at  a  court  in  the  centre  of  France.  At  the  time 
he  had  the  dream  I  am  going  to  relate,  he  was  ju^-e 
d' instruction  in  a  small  town,  where  there  are  some  impor- 
tant factories.  He  was  closely  connected  with  a  large 
manufacturer,  and  was  accustomed  to  go  and  see  him 
nearly  every  day.  He  knew  the  staff  of  the  factory,  and 
notably  an  overseer,  a  native  of  Flanders  ;  this  man,  after 
many  years  of  faithful  service,  wished  to  return  to  his 
birthplace  and  left  his  employer,  remaining,  however,  on 
the  best  of  terms  with  him. 

Some  months  afterwards  my  colleague  dreamt,  he  had 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       207 

taken  his  usual  promenade  and  paid  his  visit  to  his  friend. 
In  his  dream,  he  saw  the  overseer  and  manifested  his 
surprise  at  seeing  him  ;  the  overseer  replied,  *  Yes,  sir,  it 
is  I.  I  could  not  find  any  work  in  my  own  country, 
and  i'  faith,  I  came  back  here/  My  colleague  attached 
no  importance  to  this  dream ;  on  the  morrow  he  went, 
as  usual,  to  see  his  friend,  and  in  the  factory  found  the 
overseer  whom  he  had  seen  in  his  dream.  He  exchanged 
the  same  conversation  he  had  held  with  him  in  his  dream. 

Facts  of  this  kind  are  very  numerous.  Perhaps  they 
are  only  simple  coincidences,  but,  as  with  sensory  auto- 
matisms already  described,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that 
coincidence  does  not  explain  everything.  The  concording 
details  are  often  so.  numerous,  that  the  probabilities  in 
an  extremely  large  proportion  are  against  pure  hazard. 
Richet,  however,  has  carefully  studied  the  Calculus  of 
Probabilities,  and  I  will  not  go  into  the  question.  I 
simply  give  my  impression,  persuaded  as  I  am  that  those 
who  study  these  facts  impartially  will  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that  hazard  does  not  explain  everything. 

The  two  dreams  which  I  have  taken  as  examples  offer 
us  cases  of  telepathy,  that  is  to  say,  the  impression 
perceived  in  a  way  which  the  ordinary  senses  do  not 
explain.  Telepathy  has  been  carefully  studied  by  Myers, 
Gurney,  Podmore,  Sidgwick,  Ermacora,  and  discussion 
on  this  question  can  only  be  pursued,  if  the  work  of 
these  savants  has  been  studied.  Telepathy  appears  to  me 
to  be  established  in  a  definitive  manner,  but  I  have  no 
personal  example  to  cite.  However,  a  very  great  number 
of  cases  have  been  related  to  me,  by  persons  who  have 
received  telepathic  impressions.  I  know  of  many  people 
who  have  had  veridical  hallucinations,  either  during  sleep 


2o8         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

or    when    awake.      The    following    are    some    examples 
borrowed  from  my  circle  of  friends  or  relations  : — 

One  of  my  great-uncles  had  married  a  coloured  woman 
at  Martinique.  This  lady,  though  highly  respectable,  was 
the  victim  of  tenacious  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  white 
Creole  families  on  the  island,  and  my  uncle's  marriage 
aroused  the  displeasure  of  his  family.  He  left  Saint- 
Pierre,  and  came  to  Bordeaux.  His  wife's  mind  suddenly 
gave  way  ;  she  had  dangerous  attacks  of  fury,  but  the 
union  between  my  great-uncle  and  his  wife  was  so  close, 
and  their  reciprocal  affection  so  profound,  that  my  relation 
would  not  consent  to  a  separation  and  have  her  cared  for 
in  an  asylum.  He  fell  a  victim  to  his  devotion  ;  his  wife 
killed  him  in  an  attack  of  high  fever.  One  of  my  great- 
aunts,  the  dead  man's  sister,  living  at  Paris,  was  awakened 
in  the  middle  of  the  night  by  her  brother's  voice  calling 
her.  This  hallucination  coincided  with  the  death  of  my 
great-uncle. 

An  intimate  friend  of  my  mother's,  a  Creole  living  at 
Bordeaux,  had  been  present  at  the  embarkation  of  a 
family  belonging  to  Martinique,  that  was  returning  to 
Saint-Pierre.  Some  time  afterwards  she  had  a  dream  in 
which  she  saw  a  steamer  founder  ;  the  stern  of  the  vessel 
rose  above  the  waves,  and  she  was  able  to  read  the  name 
of  the  boat ;  it  was  the  one  on  which  her  friends  had  em- 
barked.    The  vessel  was  lost  and  not  a  life  saved. 

Here  is  another  interesting  fact,  in  which  (i)  a 
sentiment  of  anxiety,  the  cause  unknown  to  the  conscious 
personality,  corresponds  with  the  serious  illness  of  a  near 
relation  ;  (2)  the  telepathic,  premonitory  hallucination  of 
a  telephonic  call  preceded  the  real  call  by  two  hours. 
This  fact  was  communicated  to  me  by  one  of  my  friends. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       209 

^  Here  is  the  exact  account  of  the  fact  I  mentioned  to 
you. 

*  On  the  evening  of  the  17th  October  1901  I  went  to 
bed  feeling  greatly  disturbed  ;  I  could  not  define  the 
cause  of  my  mental  anguish,  for  I  was  in  perfect  health. 
This  trouble  persisted,  and  my  sleep  was  haunted  by 
painful  nightmare. 

*  At  half-past  four  I  suddenly  awoke,  having  distinctly 
heard  the  sound  of  my  telephone  bell.  I  ran  to  the 
apparatus,  and  answered  the  ring.  The  night  operator 
replied  that  he  had  not  rung  me  up,  and  that  nothing 
unusual  was  happening.  I  had  therefore  been  labouring 
under  a  hallucination,  provoked  by  a  particular  haunting 
impression. 

*  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  telephone  again 
sounded,  and  I  was  put  into  communication  with  my 
brother-in-law  residing  at  Biarritz.  He  told  me  that 
my  sister,  Madame  V.,  had,  in  the  night,  been  struck 
with  congestion  of  the  brain,  and  was  in  a  critical 
state.' 

All  these  facts  may  be  considered  as  coincidences  ; 
their  attentive  study,  their  thorough  analysis,  and  their 
careful,  thoughtful  comparison  can  alone  make  us 
suspect,  that  hazard  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
their  production. 

I  may  compare  these  cases  of  telepathy  to  facts  of 
exteriorisation  of  sensibility,  and  of  vision  at  a  distance. 
I  have  given  very  little  study  to  these  facts,  for 
they  do  not  enter  into  the  habitual  plan  of  my  re- 
searches ;  I  have  sometimes  observed  them,  but  under 
conditions  which  do  not  satisfy  me.  My  observations, 
however    incomplete  they    may   be,   tend,    nevertheless, 


2IO       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  make  me  think,  that  the  phenomenon  described  by 
de  Rochas,  under  the  name  o^  exteriorisation  de  la  sensibilite^ 
is  real.  I  have  met  with  two  sensitives,  who  presented 
the  phenomenon  in  a  fairly  clear  manner  in  a  waking 
state.  I  was  led  to  make  the  following  experiment  with 
one  of  these  sensitives.  As  soon  as  she  entered  the 
seance-room  and  had  taken  off  her  cloak,  I  took  hold 
of  the  garment  and  pinched  the  lining.  The  sensitive 
mentioned  feeling  a  certain  sensation,  rather  feeble  how- 
ever, in  the  part  of  her  body  which  had  been  covered 
by  the  garment  in  the  place  I  had  pinched  it.  The 
first  time  I  tried  this  experiment,  the  sensitive  had  not 
been  warned,  and  was  surprised  at  the  sensation  she 
felt.  Needless  to  say,  I  took  precautions  to  make  sure, 
this  lady  did  not  see  what  I  was  doing.  I  have  ob- 
served, that  this  particular  sensibility  disappears  very 
rapidly  ;  at  the  end  of  forty  or  fihy  seconds  it  has 
ceased  to  exist. 

I  have  asked  a  lady  friend  of  this  sensitive's  to  try 
the  same  experiment  with  her  more  private  garments, 
especially  with  the  corsets.  Sensibility  should  then  be 
greater. 

I  think  that  the  observation  of  this  fact,  which  I 
point  out  with  much  reserve,  not  having  submitted  it 
to  serious  study,  is  easier  than  is  supposed,  by  employ- 
ing the  method  I  indicate,  that  is  to  say,  by  pinching 
or  pricking  garments  which  the  sensitive  has  just 
thrown  off. 

I  have  had  occasion  also  of  verifying  this  phenomenon, 
under  the  technical  conditions  indicated  by  Colonel  de 
Rochas.  Very  few  sensitives  present  it  in  a  marked 
manner,  and   it  has  seemed   to  me   necessary   to  push 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       211 

the  artificial  sleep  rather  deeply.  This  expression  may 
seem  somewhat  antiquated,  to  those  who  have  frequented 
our  learned  neurological  cliniques  ;  but  I  cannot  help 
thinking,  that  a  real  difference  exists  between  the  different 
phases  of  somnambulism,  if  they  be  observed.  I  speak  of 
a  difference  of  degree.  It  seems  to  me  that,  once  the 
subject  is  put  to  sleep,  the  repeated  action  of  the  passes 
determines  a  particular  state,  pointed  out  by  ancient 
magnetisers  and  exposed  in  detail  by  de  Rochas,  in 
which  the  subject  appears  to  lose  the  notion  of  his 
personality,  and  be  in  close  dependence  upon  his 
*  magnetiser.'  I  have  experimented  very  little  in  this 
order  of  research,  and  I  can  permit  myself  only  to  give 
indications  ;  I  am  unable  to  affirm  a  personal  conviction. 
The  few  experiments  I  have  made,  however,  tend 
to  make  me  think  that  de  Rochas  is  quite  right  in 
speaking  of  superficial  and  profound  states.  I  am  not 
convinced  that  the  passage  from  the  one  to  the  other 
takes  place  with  the  regularity  that  my  eminent  friend 
has  observed,  but  the  fact  pointed  out  by  him  is,  I 
think,  true  in  a  general  way.  I  am  going  to  support 
my  opinion  with  an  example. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  Madame  Agullana.  Those 
who  have  only  been  present  at  her  ordinary  seances  can 
have  no  idea  of  the  curious  faculties,  she  sometimes 
presents.  An  experienced  manipulator  can  obtain  with 
her — on  condition  of  operating  quietly  and  in  the  pre- 
sence of  very  few  people — phenomena  which  are  very 
interesting,  in  the  sphere  of  what  is  called  animal  magnet- 
ism. I  was  at  her  home  one  evening  with  Monsieur  B. 
We  were  expecting  a  tutor,  a  medium  of  whom  I  had 
heard  marvellous  things.    This  tutor  did  not  turn  up ;  but, 


212        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

while  waiting  for  him,  I  put  Madame  A^uUana  to  sleep  ; 
I  wished  to  show  Monsieur  B.,  who  had  no  experience  of 
this  kind,  the  effects  of  profound  sleep.  I  prolonged 
my  passes,  made  longitudinally  from  the  forehead  to  the 
epigastrium,  for  more  than  twenty-five  minutes.  From 
time  to  time,  every  seven  or  eight  minutes,  I  asked 
Madame  Agullana  what  was  her  name.  She  told  me  her 
name.  At  last  the  moment  came  when  she  could  not 
remember  her  name,  and  appeared  to  have  lost  conscious- 
ness of  her  personality.  I  made  a  few  more  passes,  and 
remarked  to  Monsieur  B.  that,  when  Madame  A.  appeared 
to  have  cutaneous  anaesthesia,  she  seemed  to  perceive 
pricks  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  centimetres  from  the 
skin.  The  passes  were  continued  for  about  another 
quarter  of  an  hour;  at  that  moment  Madame  A.  appeared 
to  present  two  peculiarities  : — 

1.  Her  sensitiveness  appeared  to  be  localised  behind 
her,  at  about  three  feet  from,  and  twenty-one  inches 
above  the  level  of  her  head.  She  winced,  when — care 
being  taken  that  she  did  not  see — the  air  was  pinched 
at  the  spot  indicated. 

2.  Only  the  persons  en  rapport  with  her — in  the  sense 
given  to  this  word  by  de  Rochas — could  make  an  im- 
pression upon  her  ;  contacts  and  pinching  by  other  people 
were  not  perceived  by  her.  I  did  not  observe  these  two 
peculiarities  under  conditions  sufficiently  precise  to  warrant 
me  affirming,  that  my  observation  was  good  ;  but  I  indi- 
cate them,  for  to  me  they  appeared  probable. 

Then,  phenomena  were  forthcoming.  Madame  Agul- 
lana said  she  was  in  the  street,  outside  of  the  house.  I 
asked  her  to  go  and  see  what  one  of  my  friends,  Monsieur 
Bechade,  was  doing — a  man  whom  she  knew  well.    It  was 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       213 

twenty  minutes  past  ten  o'clock.  To  our  great  surprise, 
she  told  us  that  she  saw  *  Monsieur  Bechade  half-undressed, 
walking  bare-footed  on  stones.'  This  did  not  seem  to  us 
to  have  any  sense.  I  saw  my  friend  the  next  day,  and, 
although  he  is  well  acquainted  with  spiritistic  phenomena, 
he  seemed  to  be  astonished  at  my  recital,  and  said  to  me, 
word  for  word  :  '  I  was  not  feeling  very  well  yesterday 
evening ;  one  of  my  friends  who  lives  with  me  advised  me 
to  try  Kneipp's  method,  and  urged  me  so  strongly,  that, 
in  order  to  satisfy  him,  I  tried  last  night  for  the  first  time 
to  walk  barefooted  on  cold  stone.  I  was,  in  reality,  half- 
undressed  when  I  made  the  first  attempt ;  it  was  then 
twenty  minutes  past  ten  o'clock  ;  I  walked  about  for 
some  time  on  the  first  steps  of  the  staircase,  which  is 
built  of  stone.' 

Perhaps  this  also  is  a  coincidence,  but  this  fact,  which 
was  witnessed  by  several  people,  presents  very  strange 
coincidences  all  the  same.  The  hour,  the  costume,  the 
unusual  operation,  are  circumstances  of  too  special  a 
nature  for  mere  hazard  to  suffice  to  explain  them,  it  seems 
to  me.  I  cite  this  case  because  it  came  under  my  personal 
observation,  and  because  it  shows  a  variety  of  telepathic 
phenomena  ;  it  is  what  the  ancient  magnetisers  called 
lucidity,  clairvoyance  or,  more  exactly,  vision  at  a 
distance.  It  appears  to  me  to  be  a  development  of  the 
facts  pointed  out  by  de  Rochas  ;  it  looks  as  though  the 
entire  sensibility  was  exteriorised  to  variable  distances. 
This  is  telaesthesia,  a  phenomenon  in  the  sensitivo- 
sensorial  domain,  analogous  to  motor  telekinesis. 

Experimenters,  who  might  be  desirous  of  verifying 
these  facts,  should  not  forget,  (i)  it  is  necessary  to  have 
a  sensitive  who  has  often  been  magnetised — I  do  not  say 


214        METAPSYCHICAL  PHEiIOMENA 

hypnotised ;  (2)  sleep  must  be  pushed  very  deeply — passes 
must  be  continued  for  more  than  half  an  hour  after 
somnambulism  sets  in.  The  time  is  reduced  with 
sensitives  who  are  well  developed. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples  of  this  kind, 
particularly  those  of  well-observed  telepathic  cases.  The 
publications  of  the  London  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
Flammarion's  book,  Ulnconnu  et  les  problemes  psychiques^ 
the  Annales  des  Sciences  psychiques^  contain  a  great  number 
of  them.  This  symbolism  will  always  be  met  with, — 
this  dramatic  element,  which  I  have  indicated  as  the 
ordinary  way  by  which  the  general  consciousness  trans- 
mits its  information  to  the  personal  consciousness.  The 
assimilation  which  I  make  between  sensory  automatisms 
and  dreams,  crystal  vision  and  telepathy,  appears  to  me 
to  find  support  in  these  facts.  These  phenomena  are  of 
the  same  order  and,  in  all  probability,  have  their  seat  in 
the  same  strata  of  the  consciousness. 

I  will  not  try  to  fathom  the  cause ;  once  again  1  must 
repeat  what  I  have  so  often  said  already, — the  question  is 
still  so  little  known,  that  we  are  not  able  to  enter  profit- 
ably upon  the  study  of  the  apparent  cause  of  the  psychical 
facts  examined  in  this  present  chapter.  We  must  multiply 
observations  and  verify  the  undeniable  existence  of  the 
facts,  before  attempting  to  interpret  them. 

I  give  here,  both  as  an  example  of  careful  observation 
and  as  an  illustration  of  the  chief  features  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  which  I  have  just  been  speaking,  the  following 
account  which  Professor  Charles  Richet  has  kindly 
sent  me. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       215 

A    COMPLEX    CASE    OF    PSYCHICAL    PHENOMENA. 

BY  PROFESSOR  CHARLES  RICHET. 

April,  1903. 

*  Dear  Dr.  Maxwell, — The  following  is  a  brief  account 
of  the  strange,  bewildering  facts,  of  which  I  promised 
you  the  narration. 

'  I.  In  the  beginning  of  October  1900  I  was  at 
Carqueiranne,  when  I  received  a  letter  from  Madame  X. 
Madame  X.  had  left  Paris  on  the  ist  of  October  for 
Fontainebleau,  with  the  intention  of  spending  a  month 
near  the  forest.  In  her  letter  to  me  she  related,  that  on 
the  arrival  of  the  train  at  the  station  of  Melun,  she  had  a 
notion  that  some  one  entered  her  carriage  and  sat  down 
opposite  to  her.  This  '^  vision  "  spoke  to  her,  saying  he 
had  known  me  very  well,  that  he  used  to  call  me  ''  Carlos," 
and  that  I  called  him  ''Tony";  he  told  her,  that  he 
knew  Fontainebleau  very  well  and  would  accompany  her 
in  her  walks  in  the  forest. 

'  After  that  letter  I  received  others  from  Madame  X., 
giving  me  numerous  details  concerning  this  vision  which 
called  itself  ''  Tony,"  a  vision  which  was  repeated  several 
times  during  Madame  X.'s  visit  at  Fontainebleau.  These 
details  were  particularly  remarkable  and  abundant  between 
the  20th  and  the  28th  October.  I  will  briefly  enumerate 
them,  after  which  I  will  enter  upon  a  discussion  and 
appreciation  of  the  chief  details. 

'"Tony"  showed  me  a  tree  to-day  on  which  were 
engraved  the  letters  A.  B.  and  a  date  1880,  or  1883 — 
the  last  figure  was  indistinct ;  underneath  the  letters 
A.  B.  was  the  name  "  Lucie."  ..."  Tony  "  seems  to 
have  had  to  do  with  machinery  of  some  kind.  He  had 
hoped  to  construct  a  machine,  which  would  have  been  of 


2i6        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

great  use  to  mankind.  He  seems  to  say  it  was  he  who  dis- 
covered the  telephone, — or,  at  least,  that  he  was  on  the 
right  track.  ...  I  hear  him  say,  "  I  know  Madeleine 
well."  He  says  he  adored  his  father.  He  speaks  about 
Leon,  Sarah,  and  Marguerite,  but  especially  about  Lucie. 
His  wife's  name  was  Lucie.  .  .  .  There  were  Jews  in  his 
family  ;  he  also  talks  about  Louise.  .  .  .  He  worked 
with  telegraphy  and  electric  wires.  .  .  .  He  knew  you 
remarkably  well ;  he  called  you  "  Carlos,"  and  you  called 
him  "  Tony"  ;  of  this  I  am  sure,  for  he  speaks  of  it  so 
often.  He  says  he  collaborated  with  you  in  some  work. 
He  says  that  when  he  was  dead,  you  went  into  his 
death-chamber  and  kissed  him  on  the  forehead.  .  .  . 
He  had  not  been  previously  ill, — a  feeling  of  suffocation 
in  the  chest  and  that  was  all.  \_^uelque  chose  Va  etouffe  a  la 
poitrine^  et  ce  fut  tout^  He  was  only  30  or  32  years 
old  when  he  died.  ...  I  do  not  think  he  was  married, 
that  is  to  say,  in  the  legal  sense  of  the  word  ;  but  he 
was  very  much  attached  to  Lucie,  by  whom  he  had  a 
daughter,  who  was  about  three  years  old  when  he  died. 
This  child  seems  to  be  still  alive,  but  very  few  people 
know  about  it.  He  adored  Lucie,  who  seems  to  have 
been  very  charming,  for  Antoine  shows  me  her  portrait, 
— a  medallion  or  locket  which  he  used  to  wear — in  which 
she  seems  to  have  beautiful  dark  eyes  and  hair.  He 
lived  for  about  four  or  five  years  with  Lucie  ;  but  Lucie 
had  previously  been  married  to  a  Jew  \un  grosjuif],  whom 
she  did  not  care  for.  I  think  Antoine  lived  a  long  time 
with  Lucie  at  Fontainebleau ;  they  were  sadly  happy 
there  [tristement  heureux].  The  house  they  stayed  at 
is  no  longer  inhabited.  It  was  a  red  and  white  cottage, 
quite  close  to  the  forest,  which  was  just  behind  it.  .  .  .  The 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       217 

house  stood  alone  ;  a  tramway  passes  by  there  to-day. 
..."  Tony  "  also  speaks  about  his  father.  His  father 
loved  his  own  fireside  ;  he  once  lost  a  lot  of  money  when 
Antoine  was  grown  up  ;  but  Antoine  did  not  take  much 
notice  of  this,  for  he  did  not  trouble  himself  about  money 
matters.  The  house  in  which  **  Tony  "  and  his  father 
lived  together,  is  one  which  they  seem  to  have  always 
inhabited.  '*  Tony  ''  seems  to  have  always  known  this 
house.  The  furniture  is  old  ;  the  rooms  look  as  though 
they  had  been  occupied  for  a  very  long  time.  He  speaks 
of  the  Faubourg  Mont  mar  tre  ;  does  that  mean  he  used 
to  live  there  ?  ,  .  .  Antoine  also  had  to  do  with  engines 
of  war.  I  think  he  was  wounded  during  the  war  [the 
Commune],  because  I  hear  the  noise  of  cannon — and 
your  father  dressed  his  wound.  .   .  . 

*  Antoine  was  a  free-mason.  He  admired  Claude 
Bernard.  His  political  opinions  were  of  a  socialistic 
tendency.  He  did  not  care  for  the  society  of  women. 
He  was  temperate,  and  did  not  drink  wine  ;  he  was  no 
epicure.  .  .  .  He  has  been  to  Geneva.  .  .  .  He  has 
hunted  with  you.  .  .  .  He  used  to  like  reading  Titus  Livy, 
.  .  .  He  cared  naught  for  the  world's  opinion,  taking  his 
conscience  for  his  sole  guide.  .  .  .  He  often  saw  Philippe. 
He  also  mentions  Yvonne,  Josephine,  Georges,  James, 
Clotilde,  and  Andre.  .  .  .  He  speaks  about  a  pseudonym  ; 
he  has  written  some  things  under  a  nom-de-plume.  .  .  . 
Antoine  had  beautiful  dark  eyes,  large  and  most  expres- 
sive, full  of  resolution,  but,  at  the  same  time,  soft, 
dreamy-looking  eyes.  He  had  a  frank,  hearty  laugh, 
and  this  merry  sound  was  often  heard  [//  riait  souvent  de 
ce  hon  rire\.  He  had  a  habit  of  putting  his  hands  behind 
his  head,  and  stretching  himself  out  on  a  sofa,  laughing 


2i8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

merrily.  .  .  .  He  has  very  long,  thin  fingers,  which  seem 
to  be  clever  at  mechanical  work  ;  indeed  he  seems  to 
have  been  clever  at  everything,  and  to  do  all  things  well. 
...  A  short  time  before  he  died — a  Wednesday, — you 
and  he  were  at  a  banquet  together,  and  drank  each 
other's  health.  "  Tony  "  then  told  you,  that  he  had  not 
been  feeling  well,  and  that  he  was  in  great  need  of  a 
hoHday.  .  .  .  Antoine  told  me  again  to-day,  that  he 
loved  Lucie  dearly  ;  "  and,"  he  said,  "  1  still  watch  over 
her,  even  now  ;  tell  her  no  evil  will  ever  befall  her." 
[Rien  de  mauvais  ne  lui  arrivera.'] 

'  II.  The  preceding  are  the  most  important  of  the 
data  concerning  my  friend  Antoine  B.,  given  me  in 
Madame  X.'s  letters  during  the  month  of  October  1900. 
I  repeat  Madame  X.  was  at  Fontainebleau,  and  I  at 
Carqueiranne.  Therefore,  I  could  not  have  given  her 
any  hints  by  my  words,  and  I  am  particularly  anxious 
to  point  out  a  fact,  of  which  I  am  absolutely  certain, 
which  is,  that  I  had  never  pronounced  the  name  of  my 
friend  Antoine  B.  in  the  presence  of  Madame  X. ;  I  am 
positive  that  no  word  of  mine  could  have  afforded  the 
smallest  clue  to  Madame  X.  of  my  acquaintance  with 
Antoine  B. 

*  I  may  also  add  that,  though  to-day  four  years  after 
these  visions  occurred,  Madame  X.  has  become  one  of 
my  friends,  at  that  moment,  October  1900,  our  ac- 
quaintanceship dated  from  a  few  months  only  ;  and,  at 
Madame  X.'s  own  request,  in  order  to  avoid  hints  and 
suggestions,  I  abstained  from  ever  speaking  with  her  on 
anything  save  vague,  general  topics.  Madame  X.,  at  this 
time,  lived  a  secluded,  retired  life  in  a  convent,  seldom 
going  out  and  receiving  no  visitors.     She  was,  moreover, 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       219 

almost  an  entire  stranger  to  Paris,  having  arrived  there 
only  a  short  time  before  I  made  her  acquaintance.  If 
Madame  X.  spoke  of  any  one  of  my  deceased  friends 
to-day,  it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  affirm  positively 
that  I  had  never  pronounced  that  name  in  her  presence  ; 
but,  thanks  to  the  great  care  I  took  at  that  moment  to 
avoid  all  manner  of  confidences  whatsoever,  continually 
seconded  in  my  efforts  by  Madame  X.  herself,  I  can 
certify  that  the  name  of  Antoine  B.  had  not  been  pro- 
nounced up  to  the  month  of  October  1 900. 

'  Therefore  my  stupefaction  was  indeed  great,  when  I 
discovered  in  Madame  X.'s  letters  so  many  precise  and 
correct  data,  though  mixed  up  with  occasional  errors. 
And  when  I  speak  of  precise  and  correct  data,  I  do  not 
mean  data,  traces  of  which  may  have  been  left  in  printed 
matter.  I  speak  of  private,  unpublished  facts,  facts 
known  only  to  me  or  to  his  wife.  Notwithstanding 
this,  however,  I  was  blind  to  the  truth.  And  I  sought 
to  explain  away  these  phenomena  of  lucidity,  by  an 
apparently  rational  explanation. 

'  Here  is  the  fable  I  invented,  for  I  think  it  may  be 
useful  to  acquaint  the  reader  with  my  hesitations,  and  the 
manner  in  which  I  tried  to  explain  these  facts.  First  of 
all,  I  supposed  that  Fontainebleau  was  a  mistake,  since,  as 
far  as  I  knew,  Antoine  B.  did  not  go  to  Fontainebleau  in 
1883.  At  the  same  time,  I  thought  I  remembered  he  had 
been  a  pupil  at  the  School  of  Artillery  at  Fontainebleau 
in  1874.  But,  I  asked  myself,  why  should  Madame  X. 
speak  about  Antoine  B.,  whose  name  I  was  and  am 
certain  never  to  have  pronounced  in  her  presence  ?  I 
found,  or  rather  I  thought  I  had  found,  the  explanation. 
In  the  month  of  September  1900,  Antoine  B.'s  daughter 


220        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Madeleine,  the  wife  of  Jacques  S.,  died,  and  one  or  two 
newspapers  mentioned  this  sad  and  premature  death. 
Now,  I  supposed  that  Madame  X.  had  unconsciously 
glanced  over  one  of  these  newspapers,  that  Antoine  B/s 
name  had  appeared  therein  with  his  biography  more  or 
less  fully  traced,  our  relations  mentioned  [he  had  been 
director  with  me  of  the  Revue  Scientifique^  and  reference 
made  to  his  term  at  the  School  of  Application  at 
Fontainebleau.     That  was  my  fable. 

'  It  is  true  there  were  several  other  facts  awaiting 
explanation;  but  I  did  not  let  them  hinder  me, — so 
dazed  are  we  by  the  fear  of  meeting  with  the  truth  just 
where  it  really  is,  when  we  find  ourselves  in  the  presence 
of  facts,  with  which  force  of  habit  has  not  yet  rendered 
us  familiar. 

*  I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  absurdity  of  this  manner  of 
thinking  ;  I  will  simply  repeat,  that  my  first  thought  was 
that  this  vision  of  Antoine  was  simply  the  souvenir  of 
some  sub-conscious  reading,  with  here  and  there  a  few 
gleams  of  lucidity,  already  very  important  in  themselves, 
but  not  exceeding  in  precision  or  in  importance  other 
proofs  of  lucidity,  of  which  Madame  X.  had  already 
given  me  numerous  and  decisive  examples. 

*  Well !  I  was  altogether  wrong  !  It  was  a  conversa- 
tion which  I  had  with  Antoine  B.'s  widow,  [she  was  now 
Madame  L.,  having  married  a  second  time]  which 
showed  me  my  mistake. 

'During  the  summer  vacation  in  1901,  she  was 
staying  at  my  house  at  Carqueiranne,  and  one  day  I 
happened  to  speak  about  Madame  X.'s  visions  concern- 
ing Antoine.  As  soon  as  I  began,  Madame  B.  became 
agitated  ;  the  recital  wrought  upon  her  feelings  consider- 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       221 

ably.  When  I  had  finished,  she  furnished  me  with  the 
two  following  fundamental  facts,  facts  which  entirely 
destroyed  the  point  of  view  I  had  first  of  all  adopted  : 
I.  "  Antoine  was  never  a  pupil  at  the  School  of  Applica- 
tion at  Fontainebleau  "  ;  2.  "  In  1883  he  and  I  were  at 
Fontainebleau  together." 

*  Consequently  the  scaffolding  I  had  erected  in  order 
to  explain  Madame  X.*s  visions  entirely  collapsed. 
The  connection  between  Antoine  and  Fontainebleau — 
connection  discovered  by  Madame  X. — could  not  have 
been  provoked  by  the  souvenir  of  the  reading  of  any 
newspaper,  and  the  hypothesis — a  very  improbable  one 
moreover — of  a  sub-conscious  souvenir,  of  the  uncon- 
scious reading  of  a  hypothetical  newspaper,  had  therefore 
no  raison  d'etre.  So  that  the  knowledge  of  a  connection 
between  Antoine  and  Fontainebleau  could  not  have  been 
due  to  any  printed  matter — since,  naturally,  no  news- 
paper had  mentioned  this  private  detail  in  Antoine 's  life 
— or  to  any  suggestion  I  might  have  given  inadvertently 
— since  I  was  ignorant  of  the  fact. 

'  Three  other  hypotheses  remain  : — that  of  chance,  and 
this  is  so  absurd,  that  it  is  useless  even  to  mention  it  ; 
that  of  collusion  between  Madame  X.  and  Madame 
B.,  a  hypothesis  which  is  as  absurd  as  the  preceding 
one,  even  if  it  were  possible,  for  neither  of  these  two 
ladies  had  or  have  ever  seen  one  another  ;  lastly,  there  is 
the  hypothesis  of  an  extraordinary  lucidity,  on  the  nature 
of  which  I  will  not  dwell,  in  order  to  avoid  theorising, 
but  which  I  must,  perforce,  be  content  with  simply 
pointing  out. 

'  There  is  not  the  slightest  trace  left  of  Antoine  B.'s 
visit  to  Fontainebleau  in    1883.      At  Barbizon,   where 


222        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

he  stayed  with  his  wife  from  the  15th  May  to  20th 
June  1883,  he  lived  in  a  rustic  inn,  which  has  been 
demolished  to  make  way  for  a  tram-line.  No  writing, 
no  letter,  no  souvenir  of  any  kind  whatever  could  have 
furnished  a  clue  to  this  private  detail  in  Antoine  B/s  life. 

*  III.  I  will  now  confront  the  reality,  such  as  it  was 
in  June  1883,  with  what  Madame  X.  wrote  me  in 
October  1900. 

*  I.  In  order  to  go  to  Fontainebleau,  or  rather  to 
Barbizon,  M.  and  Mme.  B.  left  the  train  at  Melun.  It 
is  impossible  to  say,  whether  the  initials  of  A.  B.  and 
the  name  of  Lucie  are  engraved  on  a  tree  in  the  forest. 

'  2.  "  There  is  much  resemblance  between  Antoine,  as 
he  was,  and  the  physical  portrait  drawn  of  him  by 
Madame  X.,  especially  the  soft,  caressing  expression  of 
the  eyes.  In  politics  he  held  advanced  opinions  for  his 
time,  and,  had  he  lived,  he  would,  in  all  probability, 
have  been  a  socialist  to-day  ;  at  least  his  opinions  would 
have  been  very  favourable  to  socialistic  doctrines.  The 
sentence,  Nous  etions  tristement  heureux^  is  character- 
istically true  ;  for  at  Barbizon,  in  spite  of  our  long  walks 
and  our  reveries  in  the  forest,  he  was  already  very  weak 
and  in  the  grip  of  the  illness  which,  soon  afterwards, 
carried  him  off  so  rapidly."  [The  above  was  written 
and  handed  to  me  by  Madame  B.  in  October  1901.] 

'  3.  Lucie  is  not  Madame  B.'s  name.  Her  name  is 
Marie.  But  Antoine  often  said  to  her,  *'  What  a  pity 
you  are  not  called  Lucie  ! "     It  was  his  favourite  name. 

'  4.  It  is  quite  true  that,  alone  among  all  my  friends, 
Antoine  called  me  '*  Carlos,"  and  that  I,  on  my  side, 
called  him  *'  Tony."  This  is  a  fact  known  only  to  me. 
It   is  also  perfectly  correct — and   I  am   not   aware   of 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       223 

having  related  this  fact  to  any  person  whomsoever — that, 
when  Antoine  died,  stricken  to  death  in  a  few  hours  by 
a  disease  of  the  heart,  I  went  into  his  death-chamber 
and  kissed  him  on  the  brow. 

'  5.  All  the  details  relative  to  the  construction  of 
machines,  electric  wires,  invention  of  the  telephone, 
[before  Gr.  Bell's  invention  had  been  made  known], 
collaboration  with  me  in  a  scientific  work,  all  these 
details  are  correct. 

'  6.  The  house  in  which  he  stayed  at  Fontainebleau 
stood  by  itself,  with  its  back  to  the  forest  ;  a  tramway 
passes  there  to-day,  the  house  having  been  pulled  down 
to  make  room  for  it. 

*  7.  His  daughter  (who  died  in  September  1900,  at 
about  the  time  when  Madame  X.  says  she  first  heard  a 
voice  call  me  *'  Carlos ")  was  called  Madeleine.  His 
sister's  name  was  Louise.  Louise  married  M.  H.  of 
Jewish  origin.     [Inhere  are  Jews  in  his  family.'] 

'  8.  He  was  thirty-two  years  old  when  he  died,  and 
his  death  was  almost  instantaneous.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  describe  his  death  more  correctly  than 
Madame  X.  does  in  the  words  :  ^elque  chose  Va  etouffe 
a  la  poitrine,  et  ce  fut  tout.  In  fact,  towards  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  night  he  was  seized  by  a  thoracic  oppres- 
sion, which  made  such  rapid  progress,  that  he  expired  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  early  morning. 

*  9.  He  was  not  wounded  during  the  Commune  ;  but 
once  when,  as  a  reserve  artillery  officer,  he  was  assisting 
at  gun-firing  at  Grenoble  he  lost  the  hearing  of  the  left 
ear,  an  affliction  which  saddened  him  very  much.  Pro- 
bably I  knew  this,  but,  if  so,  I  had  completely  forgotten 
it.     It  was  Madame  B.,  who  related  this  detail  to  me  in 


224       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

October  1901,  a  detail  absolutely  unknown  to  every  one, 
for  Antoine  never  spoke  of  it. 

'  10.  When  Antoine  was  already  grown  up,  shortly 
before  his  marriage,  his  father,  Louis,  suffered  heavy 
losses  of  money  through  a  defaulting  cashier.  Antoine 
did  not  take  this  to  heart ;  moreover,  no  one  ever 
knew  of  the  incident,  which  was  carefully  kept  from 
the  knowledge  of  every  one  outside  of  the  family. 

*  II.  He  wrote  under  a  pseudonym.  He  wrote  a  few 
insignificant  plays  in  1876  or  1877;  but  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  recover  traces  of  them  to-day. 

'12.  The  house  where  he  was  born,  and  where  he 
lived  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage,  is  very  old 
(situated  on  the  Quai  de  H.,  and  not  in  the  Faubourg 
Montmartre)  ;  the  furniture  is  ancient ;  the  house  is 
quite  unlike  a  modern  one. 

^13.  The  description  of  Lucie,  his  wife,  is  exact — **a 
very  charming  woman  with  beautiful  dark  hair  and  eyes." 
Antoine  had  a  portrait  of  her  in  a  locket,  which  he  used 
to  wear  on  his  person. 

*  14.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  him  a  short  time 
before  his  death,  he  spoke  to  me  about  the  extreme 
fatigue  which  he  felt,  a  kind  of  general  lassitude,  and  of 
his  great  need  of  change  and  rest. 

'In  all  the  above  facts  there  is  an  admirable  and  most 
unlikely  concordance  between  the  reality  and  the  indica- 
tions given  by  Madame  X. 

'  To  be  quite  complete,  I  ought  to  mention  the  facts 
which  I  have  not  been  able  to  verify,  and  those  which 
seem  inexact  to  me. 

'  Among  the  facts  I  have  been  unable  to  verify,  are 
the  names  of  Yvonne,  Josephine,  Sarah,  Marguerite, 
Georges,  Clotilde. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       225 

*  The  chief  inexact  details  are  the  story  of  Lucie's  true 
husband — a  Jew  {un  gros  juif) — and  of  the  child  Lucie 
and  Antoine  had,  of  whose  existence  hardly  any  one 
knew  ;  also  the  detail  of  having  been  wounded  during 
the  Commune  and  his  wound  having  been  dressed  by  my 
father.  I  ought  also  to  add  that  Antoine  and  Marie  B. 
were  at  Fontainebleau  with  their  three  children.  How- 
ever, for  reasons  which  I  will  develop  further  on,  these 
errors  have  a  great  interest  and  merit  an  attentive 
examination. 

'  When  considering  these  phenomena  we  must,  first 
of  all,  rid  ourselves  of  commonplace  prejudices.  The 
question  is,  not  whether  such  or  such  a  phenomenon  does 
or  does  not  concord  with  recognised  ideas,  but  whether 
the  phenomenon  exists  or  does  not  exist — always  suppos- 
ing, of  course,  that  it  be  not  in  flagrant  contradiction 
with  established  and  verified  truths. 

'  Therefore  every  effort  of  demonstration  must  be  con- 
centrated on  this  one  point :  Can  we  explain  the  above 
facts  by  any  known  process  ?  For  the  sake  of  simplicity 
let  us  only  take  one  of  the  facts,  that  of  the  presence — 
"or  of  the  thought'' — of  Antoine  B.  at  the  Melun  rail- 
way station.  We  have  seen  that  I  fell  into  error  by 
endeavouring  to  explain  this  presence — or  this  thought 
— by  a  term  at  the  School  of  Artillery  at  Fontainebleau ; 
and  I  do  not  see  what  other  explanation  can  be  attempted, 
since  not  the  slightest  trace  is  left  of  Antoine's  visit  to 
Fontainebleau  with  his  wife  twenty  years  ago. 

'  Even  if  an  expensive  detective  inquiry  had  been  set 
on  foot,  it  is  highly  doubtful  if  anything  concerning 
Monsieur  and  Madame  B.'s  visit  to  Fontainebleau  could 
have  been  found  out. 


226        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

'  Therefore,  at  the  very  outset,  and  without  taking  into 
account  any  of  the  other  exact  details  in  Madame  X.'s 
visions,  we  encounter  the  material  impossibility  of  estab- 
lishing any  relations  between  Fontainebleau  and  Antoine. 

'  But,  just  for  one  moment,  let  us  make  the  concession 
that  the  names  of  Monsieur  and  Madame  B.  had  been 
somewhere  met  with  atBarbizon  after  an  interval  of  twenty 
years  ;  this  would  immediately  entail  the  knowledge  of 
many  other  details  ever  so  much  easier  to  gather  than 
were  those  very  details  given  by  Madame  X.,  and  not 
only  easier  but  also  more  exact.  Had  this  visit  become 
known  to  Madame  X.  by  any  normal  means,  there 
would  not  have  been  the  story  of  an  illegal  union, 
and  of  a  residence  of  five  years  at  Fontainebleau.^  So 
even  the  mistakes  are  a  confirmation  of  the  truth,  one 
of  the  most  interesting  of  confirmations  ;  for,  honestly, 
we  cannot  suppose  that,  knowing  the  real  facts,  Madame 
X.  would  have  taken  it  into  her  head  to  add  facts,  which 
she  knew  to  be  incorrect. 

'  To  put  it  in  another  way,  even  if  we  admit  this 
absurdity  of  an  extremely  cleverly  conducted  detective 
inquiry  making  known  to  Madame  X.  the  story  of 
Antoine's  life,  she  would  not  have  distorted  the  results 
of  such  an  inquiry  by  introducing  errors  therein.  To 
take  an  example,  when  Antoine  was  at  Fontainebleau 
with  his  wife  and  three  children,  she  would  have 
mentioned  the  other  two  children.  She  would  also 
have  said — and  this  was  extremely  easy  to  find  out — 

1  Let  us,  however,  point  out  that  Antoine  had  been  five  years  married  when 
he  died,  and  that  he  had  been  at  Fontainebleau  with  his  wife,  consequently  the 
error,  which  consists  in  saying  five  years  of  life  together  at  Fontainebleau,  con- 
stitutes only  a  relative  error. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       227 

that  the  B.  establishment  was  situated  on  the  Quai  de 
H.,  and  not  in  the  Faubourg  Montmartre. 

'Therefore,  every  point  carefully  considered,  I  think 
it  is  absolutely  certain  that  normal  means  of  knowledge 
could  not  establish  any  connection  between  Antoine  and 
Fontainebleau. 

'  In  the  second  place,  unpublished  details  were  furnished. 
I  will  pass  over  all  the  details — though  they  too  be 
correct — which  might  be  found  in  biographical  or  necro- 
logical  articles  ;  I  will  simply  draw  attention  to  the 
following  five  extremely  private  details  : — 

'  I .  The  name  of  Lucie  ;  and  a  locket  containing 
her  portrait  which  Antoine  always  wore  on  his 
person. 

*  2.  The  names  of  "  Carlos  "  and  "  Tony." 
'  3.  A  pseudonym. 

*  4.  Money  lost  by  his  father. 

'  5.  The  circumstances  of  his  death. 

'  Now,  not  one  of  these  details  could  have  been  found 
out  by  any  inquiry,  however  clever,  however  well-planned 
and  well  carried  out  such  an  inquiry  might  have  been. 

'  I .  Madame  B.  was  the  on/y  living  person  who 
knew  of  Antoine's  preference  for  the  name  of  Lucie. 
She  had  never  spoken  of  this  to  any  one  ;  and  it  is 
a  minute  detail  of  which  I  was  in  complete  ignorance, 
until  Madame  B.  told  me  of  it  in  1901,  after  hearing 
about  the  visions  Madame  X.  had  related  to  me  in  her 
letters,  a  year  before. 

*  2.  I  was  the  on/y  person  living  who  knew  that  Antoine 
called  me  "  Carlos  "  ;  and  this  is  not  a  very  commonplace 
statement,  since  no  one,  save  Antoine,  has  ever  called  me 
''  Carlos." 


2  28         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

'  3.  No  one  ever  suspected  Antoine  of  having  written 
under  a  mm  de  plume ;  the  few  insignificant  things 
he  wrote  for  the  stage  are  so  entirely  forgotten,  that 
Madame  B.  herself  remembered  nothing  about  them  in 
1901  ;  and  it  is  even  highly  probable  that  what  he 
wrote  could  not  be  found  again,  the  Bobino  theatre, 
where  he  presented  his  plays,  having  disappeared  years 
ago. 

'4.  The  monetary  losses  which  his  father,  Louis  B., 
sustained  a  short  while  before  Antoine's  marriage,  had 
been  carefully  kept  from  the  knowledge  of  every  one. 
These  losses  were  occasioned  by  a  dishonest  cashier. 
The  man  was  not  prosecuted.  Notwithstanding  the 
importance  of  the  sum  involved,  Antoine  was  rela- 
tively indifferent  to  the  loss,  as  was  distinctly  indicated 
by  Madame  X. 

'  5.  The  circumstances  of  his  death  are  described 
with  striking  reality.  I  kissed  Antoine  on  the  fore- 
head when  he  was  dead.  Some  little  time  before 
the  end,  he  spoke  to  me  about  his  health,  saying  he 
felt  in  great  need  of  rest.  He  did  not  look  ill, 
however,  and  he  died,  after  a  few  hours'  illness  only, 
from  a  cardiac  affection  :  quelque  chose  I' a  etouffe  a  la 
poitrine. 

*  There  is  still  another  item  of  interest,  which  I  wish 
to  touch  upon  :  this  is,  the  "  message  "  from  Antoine  to 
his  wife :  rien  de  mauvais  ne  lui  arrivera.  These 
words  were  written  by  Madame  X.  in  one  of  her  letters 
to  me,  with  the  indication  that  Antoine  had  pronounced 
them  on  a  certain  day.  Now,  on  that  very  day, 
Madame  B.  was  delivered  of  a  still-born  child.  She 
was,  therefore,  in  a  perilous  condition  at  the  very  time 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       229 

Antoine  said  :   "  I  watch  over  her,  even  now  ;  tell  her, 
no  evil  will  ever  befall  her." 

'  We  have,  now,  to  draw  our  conclusion.  The  hypo- 
thesis of  chance  is  absurd ;  the  hypothesis  of  fraud  is 
absurd  ;  there  remains  but  a  third  hypothesis,  that  of 
a  phenomenon  inexplicable  by  any  of  the  existing  data 
of  our  knowledge.  It  is  for  this  inexplicable  pheno- 
menon, that  we  are  going  to  try  and  find  an  ex- 
planation. 

*  Two  explanations  at  once  present  themselves :  a,  either 
this  knowledge  is  entirely  due  to  the  intellectual  faculties 
of  Madame  X.  ;  or  y8,  some  other  intelligence  inter- 
venes, which  manifests  itself  to  Madame  X. 

'  a.  This  hypothesis  is  rather  complicated,  for  it  is  not 
in  the  form  of  abstract  knowledge  that  Madame  X.  learnt 
of  all  these  real  facts  concerning  Antoine,  but  in  the 
form  of  Antoine  himself.  So  that,  if  it  really  be  only  a 
question  of  abstract  notions,  these  abstract  notions  have 
taken  a  concrete  form  in  order  to  manifest  themselves. 
They  would  thus  have  constituted  a  sort  of  error  in 
themselves.  It  has  been  supposed  that  Antoine  himself 
came  into  the  railway  carriage  at  Melun,  that  he 
accompanied  Madame  X.  in  her  walks  in  the  forest  at 
Fontainebleau  during  the  whole  month  of  October  1 900, 
that  he  related  the  story  of  his  life  to  her  ;  and  there  is 
something  which  shocks  us  in  the  thought  that,  though 
the  story  told  to  Madame  X.  be  true,  there  was  no 
Antoine.  At  the  same  time,  this  objection  is  not 
paramount ;  for  we  know  so  little  of  the  ways  in  which 
supernormal  knowledge  flows  into  the  mind,  that  we  are 
unable  to  make  any  negation  concerning  them. 

*  Moreover,   it    is,   relatively,   more   rational,    not   to 


230         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

suppose  the  intervention  of  another  force,  since,  a  la 
rigueur^  a  human  intelligence,  under  extraordinary  condi- 
tions of  clairvoyance,  may  suffice  to  explain  everything. 

^  )8.  If  other  personalities  intervene,  they  may  be  either 
)8',  the  personality  of  Antoine  B.  himself,  or,  P\  other 
forces  non-identical  with  human  personalities. 

^  ^' .  Assuredly,  the  hypothesis  that  it  is  the  conscious- 
ness of  Antoine  B.  himself  who  came  to  Madame  X.  is 
the  simplest,  and  at  a  first  glance,  it  satisfies  us.  But 
then !  what  a  number  of  objections  such  a  hypothesis 
raises  !  How  is  it  possible  for  the  consciousness  to 
survive  after  death .?  How  can  intelligences  which 
suffer  birth  escape  death }  A  beginning  implies  an 
end  :   Birth  implies  death,  the  one  involves  the  other  ! 

^y8".  Other  forces  such  as  genii,  demons,  angels,  etc., 
may  exist,  as  strict  logic  commands  us  to  admit.  There 
is  a  certain  impertinence  in  supposing  that,  in  the 
Infinite  Immensity  of  Worlds  and  Forces,  man  is  the 
only  force  capable  of  thinking.  It  seems  to  me  necessary 
to  admit,  that  there  exist  intelligent  forces  in  nature, 
other  than  man  ;  forces,  which  are  constituted  differently 
to  him,  and  are  consequently  imperceptible  to  his  normal 
senses  ;  these  forces  may  be  called  angels,  genii,  demons, 
spirits,  no  matter  the  name  we  give  them.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  this  hypothesis  of  intelligent  forces  ought 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  hypothesis  of  human 
personalities  surviving  after  death.  These  are  two 
absolutely  distinct  hypotheses.  Now,  I  think  that  it  is 
not  the  hypothesis  of  intelligent  forces  which  is  doubt- 
ful ;  what  is  extremely  doubtful  is  that  these  forces 
can  enter  into  communication  with  man.  Moreover, 
as  in  the  case  under  notice,  why  should  they  take  the 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       231 

material  appearance   of  a   deceased   human   being,  and 
declare  their  identity  with  such  ? 

*  We  see  that  all  the  explanations  so  far  put  forth  are 
imperfect,  and,  for  my  part,  I  find  them  so  imperfect, 
that  I  am  inclined  to  believe  in  some  other  hypothesis 
which  I  do  not  know,  which  I  cannot  even  guess,  but 
which,  nevertheless,  I  am  convinced  exists,  since  here 
we  have  real  facts,  which  not  any  of  the  hypotheses 
heretofore  presented  can  explain  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
It  is  to  this  hypothesis  X  that  I  attach  myself,  for  the 
present,  recognising,  while  doing  so,  that  there  is  a 
certain  amount  of  irony  in  proposing  a  hypothesis,  of 
which  I  am  unable  to  give  the  formula. 

*  In  conclusion,  we  see  that  this  case  of  Antoine  B. 
involves  the  whole  problem  of  spiritism.     It  appeared 
to  interest  you,  my  friend,  and  I  have,  therefore,  related 
it  to  you,  because  the  simple  and  complete  narration  of 
facts  ought  to  precede  theories.' 

November  1903. 

*  My  dear  Maxwell, — The  series  of  phenomena 
concerning  Antoine  B.  do  not  cease  with  the  recital  I 
recently  sent  you.  That  recital  comports  an  epilogue 
not  less  extraordinary  than  itself.  I  say  an  "epilogue," 
for  most  assuredly  it  has  some  connection — of  a 
psychological  order — with  the  preceding  recital.  I  will 
set  it  forth  as  concisely  as  possible  : 

'One  evening  in  May  1903  I  was  dining  with 
Madame  X.  and  her  family.  After  dinner  we  tried 
for  phenomena,  but  received  nothing.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  evening,  shortly  before  I  left,  Madame 
X.  pronounced  the  following  words — words  which  I 
wrote   down   among    my    notes   as  soon   as   I    reached 


232         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

home — "  I  see  a  woman  standing  near  me ;  she  has 
grey  hair,  she  is  about  fifty  years  of  age,  but  looks  older 
than  she  really  is.  Her  hair  is  quite  grey.  I  believe  it 
is  Madame  B."  (Antoine's  widow),  "  though  I  am  not 
quite  sure  yet.  I  see  the  figure  7  with  her,  which 
probably  means  that  she  will  die  in  seven  months,  or  on 
the  7th  of  some  near  month."  Such  is  the  copy  of  the 
very  brief  note  I  took  of  Madame  X/s  words.  I  ought  to 
add  that  this  note  is  a  much  abridged  account  of  Madame 
X.'s  actual  words,  and  that  she  also  said  : — "  Madame  B. 
is  very  ill ;  she  has  some  sort  of  chest  complaint — per- 
haps tuberculosis — and  she  will  die  very  soon  indeed." 

^  What  renders  this  premonition  extremely  interesting 
is  that  Madame  B.,  at  that  moment,  was  only  very 
slightly  ill.  She  was  so  slightly  indisposed,  that  not  for  a 
moment  did  the  thought  ever  cross  my  mind,  mat  her 
indisposition  might  turn  into  anything  serious.  Neither 
I  nor  any  one  in  the  world  suspected  any  danger  what- 
soever. But  fifteen  days  after  this  prognostication  had 
been  made,  the  apparently  slight  bronchial  affection 
from  which  Madame  B.  was  suffering,  and  of  which  I 
had,  naturally,  never  said  a  word  to  Madame  X., 
remained  stationary,  but  still  the  idea  that  the  result 
might  prove  fatal  never  entered  into  any  one's  head. 

*  Nevertheless,  the  result  did  prove  fatal.  Madame  B. 
died,  within  seven  weeks  after  Madame  X.'s  prediction, 
on  Tuesday,  30th  June  1903,  after  a  very  sudden  and 
irresistible  aggravation  of  her  previously  slight  indisposi- 
tion, which  carried  her  off  in  four  or  five  days.  The 
illness  turned  out  to  be  a  sort  of  pulmonary  affection, 
the  nature  of  which  is  still  unknown  to  the  doctors  who 
attended  her  :  (tuberculosis  ?  infectious  grippe  ?), 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       233 

*  An  interesting  detail  :  Madame  B.  had  black  hair  ; 
I,  who  knew  her  well,  had  never  noticed  any  grey  in  her 
hair  ;  I  did  not  know  she  was  grey.  Now  a  few  days  be- 
fore her  illness  took  a  serious  turn,  one  of  the  members 
of  my  family  who  had  just  been  paying  Madame  B.  a 
visit,  said  to  me  :  "  Madame  B.  does  not  dye  her  hair  any 
longer,  so  that  one  can  now  see  how  very  grey  she  is  !  " 

'  Here  is  a  veritable  premonition.  The  authenticity  of 
this  remarkable  fact  cannot  be  doubted,  for  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  me,  or  for  any  one  else,  by 
means  of  telepathy,  or  in  any  other  way,  to  convey  to 
Madame  X.  the  idea  of  a  death,  in  which  I  did  not 
believe,  and  which  did  not,  even  for  a  moment,  cross  my 
mind,  or  any  one  else's  mind. 

'  Such,  dear  Dr.  Maxwell,  is  the  epilogue  of  the  recital 
I  sent  you.  Although  we  cannot  state  precisely  the 
link  uniting  the  diverse  psychical  phenomena  exposed  in 
my  two  letters,  I  do  not  think  we  can  consider  them  as 
independent  of  each  other.  There  are  certain  mysterious 
relations  here,  which  the  future,  aided  by  our  patience, 
will  certainly  elucidate. — Yours  sincerely, 

'Charles  Richet.' 

January  1905. 

*  Dear  Friend, — During  the  revision  of  the  above 
pages,  whilst  I  was  showing  them  to  Madame  X.,  the 
latter  told  me  that  "  the  family  B.  were  not  yet  done 
with  "  \tout  n  est  pas  jini  encore  pour  la  famille  B.  .']  ;  her 
words  conveyed  to  me  the  impression  of  a  presentiment 
of  some  misfortune  about  to  fall  upon  that  family. 
These  words  were  uttered  between  3  and  4  o'clock  on 
the  23rd  December  1904. 


234         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

'  Now,  during  the  night  of  the  23rd-24th  December, 
towards  ii  o'clock,  Louis  B.  (the  son  of  Antoine  B.) 
narrowly  escaped  being  killed  in  a  serious  railway 
accident.  That  he  was  saved  was  little  short  of  a 
miracle.  When,  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  December, 
I  saw  by  the  newspapers  that  Louis  had  escaped,  I  was 
struck  by  the  thought  that  Madame  X.'s  prediction 
\_lout  nest  'pas  fini  encore  pour  la  famille  5.]  had  been 
on  the  point  of  becoming  realised. 

*  Alas  !  the  presentiment  was  but  too  true  ;  for  Oliver 
L.,  the  son  of  Madame  B.'s  second  husband,  was  in  the 
same  train  as  Louis  B.,  and,  though  the  morning  papers 
did  not  mention  the  fact,  he  was  killed  instantaneously. 

*  I  have  another  interesting  point  to  mention  in  con- 
nection with  this  presentiment.  On  the  8th  July  1903 
Madame  X.  wrote  to  me  saying,  that  Madame  B.'s 
death  (she  had  just  died)  would  be  soon  followed  by 
another.  She  added  :  *  Some  one  tells  me  that  one  of 
the  sons  will  soon  die, — before  the  end  of  two  years. 
I  think  it  is  Jacques  B.,  but  they  do  not  say  so.' 
\_^elquun  me  dit  qu  un  des  fils  mourra  bientot,  avant 
deux  ans.     Je  pense  que  c  est  Jacques  B.,  mats  on  ne  le  dit 

*  Thus  this  premonition — somewhat  vague  it  is  true — 
pronounced  eighteen  months  before,  was  realised.  It 
will  be  remarked  that  Madame  X.,  by  adding  her  own 
impression  to  her  auditory  perception,  committed  an 
error  ;  whilst  the  perception  itself,  though  not  very 
explicit,  was  correct. — Yours  very  sincerely, 

*  Charles  Richet.' 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       235 

II.    MOTOR    AUTOMATISM 

The  observations  which  I  have  just  laid  before  my 
readers,  relate  to  facts  occurring  in  the  domain  of 
sensibility  ;  the  motor  centres  do  not  escape  automatism, 
and  there  is  a  whole  series  of  motor  automatisms,  simple 
or  mixed,  to  be  noticed.  For  the  sake  of  clearness,  I 
will  divide  them  into  four  classes  : — 

1.  Simple  muscular  automatism  : — Typtology  ;  Plan- 
chette  ;  and  diverse  alphabetic  systems,  ouija,  etc. 

2.  Graphic  muscular  automatism  : — Automatic  script 
and  drawing ;  Planchettes,  baskets,  tables. 

3.  Phonetic  automatism  : — Automatic  discourses. 

4.  Mixed  automatisms  : — Incarnations. 

I  will  remark,  first  of  all,  that  the  word  automatism, 
borrowed  from  Myer's  terminology,  is  not  strictly  correct. 
In  reality,  we  can  only  speak  of  automatism  when  we 
are  in  presence  of  mechanical  acts,  excluding  interven- 
tion of  the  will.  Now  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  acts 
in  question  ;  these  acts,  which  appear  to  be  automatic 
if  they  are  looked  at  solely  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
personal  consciousness,  are  in  reality  due  to  some  sort  of 
consciousness,  parasitic  or  non-parasitic,  and  offer  the 
characteristic  features  of  voluntary  acts.  These  reserves 
made,  I  will  continue,  for  want  of  better,  to  use  the 
word  consecrated  by  custom. 

I.  Simple  muscular  automatism. — I  designate  thus 
those  acts  which  require  no  association  of  complicated 
movements,  such  as  the  movements  of  writing  and 
language  exact.  The  simplest  way  of  provoking  this  auto- 
matism is  in  the  ordinary  spiritistic  process  of  typtology. 

The  experimenters  sit  down  round  a  table,  and  lay 


236         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

their  hands  lightly  on  it.  Sooner  or  later  the  table 
trembles,  sways  about  from  side  to  side,  sometimes  turns 
round,  but  more  often  raises  one  of  its  feet  and  strikes 
the  ground  with  it.  A  code  of  signals  is  arranged  to 
express  *  yes/  *  no,'  '  doubtful ' — e.g.  three,  two,  and 
four  : — the  manner  in  which  the  alphabet  is  to  be  pointed 
out  is  also  agreed  upon,  either  the  table  will  strike  the 
number  of  the  letter's  rank,  for  example,  one  for  A,  three 
for  C,  15  for  O,  20  for  T,  etc.,  or  it  will  strike  the 
floor  when  the  letter  desired  is  pronounced. 

I  rank  this  phenomenon  with  automatisms  because, 
nearly  always,  it  has  appeared  to  me  to  be  due  to  invol- 
untary, or  unconscious  movements.  I  do  not  like  this 
kind  of  experiment ;  it  does  not  carry  conviction.  Gas- 
parian,  and  after  him,  Chevreul  have  given  the  correct 
interpretation  of  it. 

It  is  interesting  only  when  the  communications 
obtained  reveal  facts,  apparently  unknown  to  the 
experimenters.  Then  the  phenomenon  is  no  longer 
explicable  by  simple  automatic  action  :  the  muscular 
movement  is  determined  by  the  impersonal  consciousness 
of  the  sitters  or  the  medium,  and  becomes  the  manner 
of  transmitting  the  message  addressed  by  the  impersonal 
consciousness  to  the  personal  consciousness.  In  fact, 
we  conceive  that,  if  what  I  said  concerning  parakinesis 
be  correct,  the  movements  of  the  table  may  be  some- 
times parakinetic.  I  have  been  present  at  many  seances 
for  typtology,  but  I  have  never  verified  interesting  facts, 
except  the  one  I  related  concerning  Touton  la  Pipe, 
When  the  experiments  are  conducted  under  the  condi- 
tions which  I  consider  indispensable,  I  am  careful  not 
to  encourage  typtological  manifestations. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       237 

There  exists  other  means  of  inducing  simple  muscular 
automatism.  The  best  are  instruments  after  the  style  of 
the  psychograph.  The  alphabet,  numbers,  and  the  words 
'  yes,'  '  no,'  '  I  do  not  know,*  are  written  on  a  dial  in 
the  centre  of  which  a  needle  is  placed.  The  displace- 
ments of  this  index  hand  indicate  the  letters,  numbers, 
etc.,  like  the  needle  of  the  dial  of  a  Breguet  telegraph. 
These  dials  are  made  of  different  sizes,  and  of  different 
materials.  It  is  best,  however,  to  construct  them  in  the 
following  manner  : — take  a  square  piece  of  white  wood, 
non-resinous,  from  seventeen  to  twenty  inches  broad. 
Trace  thereon  a  circumference  of  seven  to  nine  inches  in 
diameter,  and  write  around  it  the  letters  of  the  alphabet, 
numbers,  the  words,  '  yes,'  *  no,'  *  I  do  not  know,'  and  any 
other  desired  indications.  Place  in  the  centre  of  the  circle 
a  bone  or  ivory  pivot,  the  axis  round  which  the  needle 
will  turn.  Make  the  needle .  of  wood,  giving  it  enough 
thickness  and  solidity  for  the  hands  to  be  able  to  rest  on  it. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  give  much  mobility  to  the  needle  if 
the  hands  are  to  rest  on  it ;  in  this  case,  it  will  suffice 
to  pierce  a  hole  in  it,  through  which  the  pivot  may  pass.^ 

I  have  been  told  of  cases  where  the  needle  moved  of 
its  own  accord  ;  but  I  have  not  personally  verified  this 
fact.  If  movements  of  the  needle  without  contact  be 
desired,  it  would  be  well  to  give  a  more  perfect  suspen- 
sion to  the  needle  :  this  may  be  accomplished  by  support- 
ing it  on  small  movable  rollers,  like  those  on  the  plan- 
chettes  used  for  automatic  writing. 

I  have  rarely  experimented  with  psychographs,  for 
the  same  reasons  which  made  me  shun  typtology. 

1  Articles  of  this  nature  may  be  found  at  Leymarie's,  42  Rue  Saint- Jacques, 
Paris  j  and  at  the  office  of  Light,  no  St.  Martin's  Lane,  London. 


238         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

I  will  say  the  same  thing  of  another  kind  of  apparatus  : 
the  ouija,  made  in  England.  It  is  a  board  on  which 
the  alphabet  and  other  signs  are  written.  A  small 
movable  planchette  supported  on  three  or  four  feet 
is  placed  on  the  board  ;  the  sitters  put  their  hands 
on  the  planchette  which  points  out  the  letters,  etc., 
with  one  of  its  feet,  a  process  which  is  irksome,  to  say 
the  least  of  it. 

There  are  yet  other  means  for  inducing  muscular 
automatism.  I  will  point  out,  as  an  example,  the  very 
ancient  method  of  divination  by  the  ring.  A  metal,  or 
better  still  an  ivory  ring,  is  suspended  to  a  hair  or  silken 
thread.  The  end  of  the  hair  or  thread  is  held  in  the 
fingers ;  the  ring  is  held,  thus  suspended,  in  the  centre 
of  a  small  circle  of  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter  on 
which  the  alphabet  is  written. 

At  the  end  of  a  certain  time,  the  ring  sways  about, 
then  strikes  the  letters,  sometimes  spelling  out  words. 
By  placing  the  ring  in  a  glass,  it  will  strike  against  it, 
giving  indications  in  this  way.  I  have  only  used  this 
method  once  or  twice,  for  it  seemed  to  me  to  present 
very  little  interest.  This  is  in  reality  ChevreuFs  explor- 
ing pendulum. 

2.  Automatic  script. — Automatic  writing  is,  I  think, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  phenomena  ;  I  have 
no  need  to  bring  to  mind  the  important  studies  which 
Myers,  Hodgson,  Hyslop,  Sidgwick,  and  others  have 
made  on  this  phenomena.  I  have  been  able  to  make 
some  observations  of  great  interest,  but  the  limits  of 
this  book  do  not  permit  me  to  give  a  detailed  report  of 
them.  The  thorough  examination  I  made  of  one  par- 
ticular case  of  automatic  writing — a  rather  rudimentary 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       239 

case,  it  is  true — clearly  revealed  to  me  the  play  of  the 
unconscious  souvenirs  of  the  medium. 

The  methods  for  obtaining  automatic  writing  are 
numerous.  We  can  even  make  a  table  write  by  fixing  a 
pencil  to  one  of  its  feet ;  the  same  with  a  hat  or  basket, 
etc.  More  perfect  methods  exist,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing are  the  best : — 

First  of  all  the  planchette;  an  instrument  in  the 
shape  of  an  oval  piece  of  wood,  resting  on  three  movable 
tiny  ivory  rollers,  with  a  small  copper  setting  at  one  end, 
in  which  a  lead-pencil  may  be  screwed.  With  the  plan- 
chette two  or  three  persons  may  write  at  the  same  time. 

Another  equally  good  method  is  the  following  :  Fix 
two,  three  or  four  handles  on  to  a  large  wooden  ball,  of 
about  seven  inches  in  diameter.  Fix  the  pencil  in  a  hole 
bored  through  the  ball,  each  handle  of  which  is  held  by 
an  experimenter.  Place  a  sheet  of  paper  underneath 
the  pencil,  the  latter  will  then  often  move  and  write 
words  and  phrases. 

Finally,  the  best  method  of  all  is  to  write  naturally, 
without  any  instrument  at  all.  The  sensitive  sits  down 
with  a  pencil,  as  though  to  write,  and  waits. 

Whatever  the  method  adopted  may  be,  it  is  seldom 
that  automatic  writing  is  manifested  at  the  outset. 
Generally  one  or  several  seances  are  passed  in  illegible 
scribblings,  in  making  strokes,  zigzags,  in  endless 
repetitions  of  the  same  letter.  But  we  must  not  be  dis- 
couraged ;  on  the  contrary,  we  must  continue  experi- 
menting for  a  certain  time,  before  concluding  to  the 
impossibility  of  success.  Whether  we  be  trying  to 
obtain  collective  or  ordinary  automatic  writing,  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  consecrate  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  every  day, 


240         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

always  at  the  same  hour,  to  these  trials.  The  pheno- 
menon takes  a  long  time  to  evolve,  and  people,  who  have 
obtained  most  curious  results  with  automatic  writing, 
have  passed  months  in  developing  their  faculty. 

As  I  said  before,  I  have  chiefly  directed  my  experi- 
ments towards  the  observation  of  movements  without 
contact ;  therefore,  I  have  not  sought  very  assiduously 
to  obtain  automatic  writing  with  my  mediums.  The 
greater  number  of  cases  I  have  observed  oflFer  little 
interest,  if  we  compare  them  to  the  curious  visual  hallu- 
cinations which  I  related  a  little  while  ago.  I  will  make 
an  exception  though  for  one  which  I  am  in  the  act  of 
studying,  and  which  makers  me  conceive  some  hopes, 
the  sensitive  having  written  in  English,  a  language 
which  I  am  positive  he  does  not  know.  This  medium, 
like  many  I  have  met  with,  submits  grudgingly  to  these 
experiments,  and  has  not  yet  consented  to  sit  regularly 
for  automatic  writing.  I  hope  I  may  succeed  in  per- 
suading him  to  do  so. 

Though  my  observations  present  very  little  relative 
interest,  I  will  give  some  examples  of  the  results  I  have 
obtained  personally.  I  will  give  them  simply  as  indica- 
tions, for,  none  of  the  facts  I  have  observed  present, 
so  far,  any  real  interest,  except  the  one  I  was  able  to 
analyse,  and  even  this  contains  nothing  of  a  transcen- 
dental nature. 

I  myself  have  often  tried  to  write  with  the  planchette. 
I  obtained  words  and  incoherent  phrases,  all  extremely 
commonplace.  I  wrote  alone  or  with  others  ;  alone,  I 
obtained  it  with  the  left  as  well  as  with  the  right  hand. 
The  left  hand  sometimes  gives  mirror-writing,  Spiegel- 
schrift ;  with  the  planchette,  the  left  hand  generally  writes 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       241 

in  the  usual  manner  from  left  to  right.  One  point  to  be 
noted  with  planchette-writing,  is  the  dissociation  of  the 
graphic  elements.  The  letters  are  as  a  rule  fairly  large, 
varying  from  an  eighth  of  an  inch  to  nearly  an  inch.  It 
is  chiefly  in  capital  letters  we  find  the  dissociation 
curious.  The  characteristics  of  my  hand-writing  are 
not  altered.  I  will  add  that  this  manifestation  does  not 
present  much  interest,  for  I  am  perfectly  conscious  of 
what  I  write  when  alone,  and  when  I  write  with  another 
person,  the  movements  of  the  planchette  indicate  to  me 
what  letters  are  being  formed. 

With  the  ball  and  handles,  of  which  I  gave  a  descrip- 
tion, I  once  observed  a  curious  fact.  I  was  experiment- 
ing with  a  lady  and  her  husband  ;  the  former  is  a 
medium  whose  faculties  are  above  the  average.  The 
writing  announced  the  reception  of  a  letter  from 
Hendaye  on  the  morrow.  The  letter  came  ;  but  to 
demonstrate  the  premonitory  feature  of  this  fact,  I  have 
only  the  affirmation  of  my  co-experimenters,  and 
although  they  are  people  of  unimpeachable  probity, 
their  affirmation  alone  would  be  insufficient  to  establish 
the  reality  of  the  premonition  in  a  positive  manner. 
Therefore,  I  only  give  it  as  a  specimen  of  the  facts  which 
may  be  obtained  with  automatic  writing. 

I  have  often  observed  ordinary  writing,  but  I  have 
never  obtained  a  veridic  paranormal  fact  in  this  way.  I 
have,  as  I  said,  studied  a  case  of  semi-automatic  writing, 
and  was  able  to  analyse  its  psychological  features 
thoroughly.  The  writer  was  what  spiritualists  call  an 
intuitive  medium,  that  is  to  say,  he  was  conscious  of  what 
he  wrote.  He  was  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  had 
never  indulged  in  spiritistic  practices  before,  though  he 

Q 


242         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

knew  the  literature,  especially  Allan  Kardac's  works. 
At  the  time  the  phenomenon  manifested  itself  with  him, 
he  was  mentally  overdone  through  excess  of  brain  work. 
He  occupied  an  important  official  position.  Apparently 
he  has  no  nervous  defect,  and,  except  for  frequent 
headaches,  his  health  is  good.  I  have  not  been  able  to 
study  his  reflex  movements,  nor  examine  him  from  a 
somatic  point  of  view. 

He  commenced  writing  with  the  planchette  ;  he  had 
a  sensation  of  being  guided,  but  knew  what  he  wrote  and 
what  he  was  going  to  write.  There  was,  therefore,  a 
beginning  of  dissociation  between  the  mental  images, 
properly  so  called,  and  their  motor  action.  This  fact 
should  be  noted,  because  it  seems  to  me  to  have  an 
interesting  signification,  in  so  far  as  it  demonstrates  that 
the  ideomotor  image  is  not  simple,  but  has  complex 
elements,  and,  notably,  that  elements  which  are  purely 
ideal  and  motor  elements  can  become  dissociated.  In 
the  example  cited,  the  sensitive  was  fully  conscious  of 
the  ideas  which  were  formed  in,  or  which  presented 
themselves  to,  his  consciousness.  On  the  contrary,  he 
was  not  fully  conscious  of  the  movements  his  hand  made. 
The  stereognostic  perception  and  the  muscular  sense 
were  intact ;  only  the  consciousness  of  the  origin  of  the 
accomplished  movement  was  obscure  ;  therefore,  it  was 
only  the  sphere  of  voluntary  motor  power  in  the 
personal  consciousness  which  was  touched. 

The  first  manifestations  of  pseudo-automatic  writing 
claimed  to  emanate  from  a  deceased  relation.  This 
relation  was  quite  disposed  to  communicate  facts  known 
to  the  sensitive,  but  manifested  very  little  eagerness  to 
answer  questions  which  the  sensitive's  consciousness  could 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       243 

not  answer.  Invited  to  justify  his  identity,  the  person- 
ality showed  itself  incapable  of  giving  the  slightest  proof. 

Meanwhile,  the  sensitive  tried  ordinary  writing,  and 
obtained  it.  It  presented  the  same  features  as  planchette- 
writing.  A  new  personification  came  and  assisted  the 
deceased  relation — he  was  nothing  less  than  a  Mahatma 
from  India !  At  this  time  the  sensitive  was  reading  the 
works  of  Madame  Blavatsky  and  Mr.  Sinnett,  especially 
the  latter' s  Occult  World.  The  communications  were 
signed  Hymaladar.  This  Mahatma  presented  nothing  of 
transcendental  interest,  and  was  lavish  with  his  promises. 
He  declared  he  was  ready  to  undertake  the  exoteric 
education  of  the  sensitive,  who,  in  his  naivete,  yielded 
to  the  Mahatma's  advice.  The  Mahatma  promised  to 
transport  him  actually  over  to  India,  to  precipitate 
letters,  etc.     The  promises  were  never  fulfilled. 

Other  personifications  manifested  ;  the  sensitive  tried 
to  obtain  some  proofs  of  identity,  but  without  success. 
On  the  other  hand  the  personifications  were  verbose  on 
general  topics,  and  gave  proof  of  a  lively  imagination. 
Here  are  some  specimens  of  their  style  and  ideas. 

A  guide,  signing  himself  Memnon,  expressed  the 
following  opinion  upon  a  certain  mystic  book  : — 

*  .  .  .  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  led  away  by  its 
descriptions  :  they  apply  to  all  those  who,  in  no  matter 
what  religion,  devote  themselves  to  a  contemplative  life, 
which  is,  assuredly,  a  blessing,  but  one  which  must  be 
won  by  patience  and  effort.  When  the  duties  common 
to  every  man  born  of  the  flesh  have  been  fulfilled,  ab- 
stention from  the  imperious  duty  of  procreation  can,  and 
really  does,  favour  the  faculty  for  projection  of  the  soul, 
and    renders   ecstasy   easier ;    but    not    only   is   such   a 


244         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

development  artificial,  it  is  also  reprehensible  to  arrive  at 
that  contemplative  life,  without  having  founded  a  family 
in  compliance  with  the  imprescriptible  law  of  nature. 
Herein  lies  the  original  vice  of  all  religious  communities 
which  offend  creation's  views ;  it  would  suffice  to 
generalise  the  doctrine  to  discover  its  falseness  imme- 
diately. Man  has  physical  as  well  as  moral  duties  to 
accomplish  :  he  is  composed  of  a  body  and  a  soul ;  he  is 
culpable  when  he  subordinates  one  of  his  composing 
parts  to  the  other.  The  senses  have  no  more  the  right 
to  command  the  body  than  the  soul  has  of  making  the 
body  suffer  in  its  physical  functions.  The  suppression 
of  any  natural  function  is  criminal,  and  every  religious 
order  does  this.  This  is  their  capital  error.  He  who 
has  raised  children  and  satisfied  the  physical  evolution, 
he  alone  has  the  right  to  withdraw  from  the  world,  to 
lead  a  contemplative  life,  when  the  body,  worn  out  by 
old  age,  has  finished  its  active  role  here  below.  It  is 
only  then  that  preparation  is  useful.' 

The  pencil  was  verbose  every  time  general  subjects 
were  broached.  Whenever  the  sensitive  pressed  the 
personification  on  some  given  point,  the  latter  was  silent 
— he  disappeared.  The  questions  were  written  as  well 
as  the  replies.  There  are  some  amusing  conversations, 
where  the  '  spirit '  plays  a  role  other  than  that  of  simple 
interlocutor.  By  way  of  specimen,  I  note  the  following 
dialogue : — 

Q.  Do  you  see  me  ? 

A.  Yes,  but  badly  ;  we  do  not  see  matter  clearly  ;  a 
long  apprenticeship  is  necessary,  and  we  have  not  been 
working  long  with  matter. 

Q,  Is  it  long  since  you  left  your  sphere  ? 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       245 

A.  Eight  years. 

Q,  Who  are  you  ? 

A.  Monsieur  A. 

Q.  And? 

A.  And  Mamie  Beaupuyat. 

Q.  You  have  known  me  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  was  one  of  your  college  friends. 

Q.  Where? 

A.  At  N. 

Q.  What  college  ? 

A.  Z.  College. 

Q.  Will  you  write  your  name  again  ? 

A.  Maurice  B.  (here  the  name  of  a  street). 

Q,  I  do  not  remember  having  known  you  my  friend. 
Remark  this,  you  have  given  me  two  different  names, 
Beaupuyat  and  B. 

A.  Many  details  are  forgotten  in  Paradise  (sic). 

Q.  Ah  !  strange  ambassador  !  You  come  to  see  me 
without  letters  of  credit  1 

A.  Good-bye. 

Q.  Good-night. 

The  subconscious  excuse  for  the  contradiction  pointed 
out  is  not  wanting  in  humour. 

Here  is  another  example  : — 

Q.  Are  my  guides  here  ? 

A.  We  are  always  at  hand  to  help  you,  always. 

Q.  Will  you  show  yourselves  to  me  ? 

A.  Ought  you  to  ask  us  for  anything  before  giving 
us  tokens  ? 

Q.  Is  it  X.  who  is  influencing  me  ? 


246         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

A.  Yes. 

Q.  But  he  is  dead  ? 
A.  Yes. 

Q.  But  you  forbid  me  to  evoke  the  dead  ? 
A.  We  are  the  spirits  of  dead  people. 
Q,  But  you  told  me  you  were  Mahatmas  ? 
A.  We  are  Mahaimas^  but  Mahatmas  are  not  living. 
Q.  Is  it  again  a  trick  of  my  subliminal  ? 
A.  Yes,  your  subliminal  is  the  will. 
Q.  Yes,  it  is  true,  but  the  will  is  chiefly  superliminal. 
A.  You  are  right. 

Q.  Why  do  you  always  make  fun  of  me  ^ 
A.  We  do  so  to  please  the  Lord. 
Q.  This  is  cruel.     I  am  in  earnest,  and  your  lord,  if 
he  be  just,  will  punish  you  severely  for  your  farces. 
A.  Yes,  he  will  give  us  the  whip. 
Q.  I  do  not  like  this  joking,  leave  me. 
A.  Always  .  .  .  (illegible). 
Q.  What.? 
A.  Magician. 
Q.  Am  I  a  magician  .? 
A.  Yes. 

Q.  I  did  not  know  it. 

A.  Always  do  good,  and  you  will  be  happy. 
Q.  Happiness  is  not  so  easy  to  obtain. 
A.  Good-bye. 
Q.  Who  are  you  ^. 
A.  A  friend. 

This  is  simply  nonsense.  I  have  quoted  these  three 
examples  in  order  to  show  the  growing  analogy  found 
therein  with  the  delirium  of  dream.     It  is  scarcely  visible 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       247 

in  the  first  quotation,  which  is  coherent,  logical  and  of 
fairly  elegant  form.  But  the  ideas  which  are  expressed 
have  their  sources  in  subconscious  souvenirs  :  they 
will  be  found  in  Spirit  'Teachings^  Higher  Aspects  of 
Spiritualism^  Occult  World ^  and  Esoteric  Buddhism. 

The  second  quotation  reveals  decided  oneiroscopic 
associations.  The  name  Beaupuyat  awakens  no  souvenir  ; 
the  name  of  a  street  having  nearly  the  same  assonance 
is  then  substituted  for  it ;  this  is  an  illogical  association, 
formed  by  phonetic  elements.  The  explanation  of  the 
contradiction  between  the  names  given  successively  is  very 
illogical,  but  it  is  what  might  be  called  *  a  good  hit.'  This 
is  one  of  our  ways  of  reasoning  with  ourselves  in  dreams. 

The  third  quotation  shows  a  still  more  marked  degree 
of  incoherence.  The  first  replies  are  attempts  at  con- 
ciliation of  contradictions  impossible  to  do  away  with  : 
they  are  affirmations  which  are  but  echoes  of  the  ques- 
tions asked.  I  do  not  quite  understand  the  association 
between  subliminal  and  will  ;  but  the  emergence  of  the 
idea  of  will  gives  place  to  a  curious  phenomenon  :  the 
evolution  of  a  parasitical  association  of  ideas  bringing 
to  mind  the  psychological  phenomenon  which  A.  Pick 
describes  under  the  name  of  Vorbeidenken.  We  have 
non-expressed  stages,  from  will  to  '  God's  will,'  words 
which  are  often  associated  together  in  religious  language  : 
'to  do  the  will  of  God,  to  be  agreeable  to  God.'  The 
incoherent  reply,  which  consists  in  saying  that  the 
Mahatmas  make  fun  of  the  subject  in  order  to  be 
agreeable  to  God,  is  then  the  last  link  of  a  chain  of 
latent  associations  ;  this  last  link  is  the  only  one  shown. 
Also,  the  incongruous  idea  of  beings  who  call  them- 
selves spirits  and  wise  men,  and  declare  they  must  be 


248         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

whipped,  is  'the  result  of  an  evident  association  between 
the  idea  of  being  severe  consciously  expressed,  and  the 
idea  of  severity,  chastisement,  whip,  average  latent  terms. 
The  psychological  analysis,  therefore,  reveals  to  us 
mental  processes  which  are  known  and  classed.  It 
shows  us,  that  the  dream  character  of  subconscious 
messages  does  not  differ  from  that  observed  in  the 
mental  operations  of  the  consciousness,  as  soon  as 
the  latter's  personal  and  voluntary  activity  becomes 
weakened  or  gradually  gives  place  to  spontaneous 
ideation.  I  think  the  three  examples  I  have  chosen 
show  this  progressive  debilitation  very  well,  and  also 
the  corresponding  accentuation  of  the  characteristics 
of  dream  in  the  messages  obtained.  The  case  I 
examined  is  at  the  limit  of  paranormal  facts,  but  the 
inquisitive  reader  has  at  his  disposal  the  weighty 
analysis  of  the  transcendental  cases  published  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  epitomised 
by  M.  Sage  in  his  book  Mrs.  Piper  et  la  Societe  Anglo- 
Americaine  des  Recherches  Psychiques,  to  verify  the 
accuracy  of  my  conclusion,  viz.  that  the  mental  pro- 
cesses in  simple  cases,  as  well  as  in  the  more  complex 
cases,  are  identical. 

I  return  to  the  case  observed  by  me.  The  obstinacy 
of  even  the  best  and  most  moral  of  these  personalities  in 
refusing  to  expose  themselves  to  any  control  whatso- 
ever, the  falsehoods  they  were  imprudent  enough  to 
overlook,  and  the  critical  attitude  of  mind  of  the 
sensitive  himself,  awakened  a  spirit  of  distrust  in  the 
latter.  He  began  to  observe  himself,  and  the  first  result 
of  his  observation  of  the  conditions  under  which  the 
writing  was  produced,  was  the  gradual  disappearance  of 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       249 

the  sensation  of  impulse  which  he  had  felt  :  his  pencil, 
he  told  me,  had  seemed  to  follow  a  magnet.  As  this 
sensation  weakened  and  disappeared,  so  the  personifica- 
tions affected  to  be  either  grievously  pained,  or  cold  and 
dignified,  or  frankly  insolent  ;  they  all  deplored  the 
sensitive's  incredulity.  The  relation  bade  him  adieu  and 
appealed  no  more  ;  Hymaladar  himself  ceased  to  be 
interested  in  his  chela.  The  sensitive  soon  saw  the 
futility  of  his  efforts,  and  the  writing  ceased  completely 
to  present  the  peculiarity  it  had  offered  during  several 
weeks. 

This  case  is  instructive,  because  it  is  on  the  border- 
line between  conscious  and  unconscious  phenomena. 
Thanks  to  the  clear  and  complete  indications  on  the 
part  of  the  sensitive,  I  was  able  to  reconstitute  the 
genesis  of  every  personality.  That  of  the  relation  is 
easily  explained,  but  Hymaladar  was  more  rebellious 
to  analysis.  Upon  investigation  it  appeared  to  me  to 
be  the  synthesis  of  the  words  Hymalaya  and  Damodar. 
The  one,  which  quite  naturally  evokes  the  thought  of 
India,  is  the  dwelling-place  of  the  sages  who,  it  appears, 
preside  in  a  very  secret  manner  at  the  evolution  of  the 
theosophical  movement  ;  the  disciple  or  chela  of  one  of 
them  was  the  guru,  the  master  of  Madame  Blavatsky. 
His  name  was  Damodar.  The  associated  ideas — 
Blavatsky,  India,  Hymalaya,  Damodar — lead  up  to  the 
word  Hymala  (ya  Damo)  dar\  the  genesis  of  the  word 
is  thus  quite  comprehensible. 

At  present  I  am  observing  a  more  complex  case,  in 
which  paranormal  phenomena  accompany  automatic 
writing.  The  sensitive,  who  is  in  the  act  of  developing 
his   medianity,  unfortunately   gives   himself  up   rather 


2  so        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

unwillingly  to  observation.  He  does  not  know  English, 
yet  he  has  automatically  written  certain  phrases  in 
English.  However,  we  must  not  conclude  therefrom, 
that  these  messages  are  of  transcendental  origin.  This 
sensitive  is  a  well-educated  person,  and  most  probably 
English  words  and  phrases  have  fallen  under  his  eyes 
from  time  to  time  ;  thus  the  irruption  of  English  in 
messages  he  obtains  may  be  explained  by  the  emergence 
of  subconscious  souvenirs.  The  tenor  of  the  messages 
is  still  vague  ;  the  writing  is  often  difficult  to  read  ;  no 
precise  fact  capable  of  being  analysed  and  verified  has  so 
far  been  given.  It  appears  to  me  useless,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, to  give  examples  of  these  messages,  but  I 
will  point  out  an  interesting  peculiarity  which  I  have 
observed  only  with  this  sensitive.  This  is  the  con- 
comitancy  of  raps  and  automatic  writing.  I  have  most 
carefully  studied  these  raps  ;  they  appear  to  me  to  occur 
on  a  level  with  the  point  of  the  pencil.  The  pheno- 
menon is  forthcoming  in  broad  daylight,  and  under 
excellent  conditions  of  observation.  An  attentive 
examination  shows  that  the  point  of  the  pencil  does 
not  leave  the  paper.  The  raps  are  forthcoming  even 
when  I  put  my  finger  on  the  upper  end  of  the  pencil, 
and  when  I  press  the  point  on  the  paper.  The  pencil 
vibrates,  but  it  is  not  displaced.  As  these  raps  are  very 
sonorous,  I  have  calculated  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
give  rather  a  strong  knock  in  order  to  reproduce  them 
artificially  :  the  necessary  movement  would  require  rais- 
ing the  pencil  from  the  twentieth  to  the  eighth  of  an 
inch,  according  to  the  intensity  of  the  raps.  Now,  the 
pencil  does  not  appear  to  be  displaced.  Further,  when 
the  writing  runs  quickly  the  raps  succeed  one  another 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        251 

with  great  rapidity,  and  the  close  examination  of  the 
writing  reveals  no  stops ;  the  text  is  unbroken,  no  trace 
of  pencil  dots  is  perceptible,  there  is  no  thickening  of 
the  characters.  The  conditions  of  observation  appear  to 
me  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  a  trick.  I  will  add  that 
during  this  automatic  writing  the  arm  and  hand  of  the 
sensitive  are  in  a  state  of  anaesthesia. 

3.  Phonetic  and  mixed  automatisms.  I  combine 
these  two  categories  of  automatisms  because  the  auto- 
matism is  seldom  purely  phonetic.  The  sensitive  makes 
gestures  appropriate  to  the  personage  he  represents,  and 
the  automatism  is  complicated ;  the  muscles  which 
regulate  the  emission  of  the  voice  are  not  the  only 
ones  in  activity. 

This  kind  of  automatism  is  very  easy  to  observe.  It 
is  the  basis  of  ordinary  spiritistic  seances;  it  is  called 
'  incarnation  '  or  *  control,'  and  the  sensitive,  who  pro- 
duces this  kind  of  phenomena,  is  called  a  *  trance 
medium.' 

Its  necessary  condition  is  the  trance  or  somnam- 
bulistic state.  The  sensitive  falls  asleep  spontaneously, 
or  is  put  to  sleep  artificially  by  passes.  After  a  certain 
time,  more  or  less  long,  and  after  diverse  movements, 
the  most  usual  of  which  seem  to  be  muscular  contractions 
of  the  face  and  pharynx,  the  sensitive  enters  into  som- 
nambulism and  passes  into  the  secondary  state.  Some 
subjects  fall  asleep  very  quickly.  It  is  not  a  rare  thing 
in  spiritistic  seances,  for  two  or  three  persons  to  enter 
into  a  state  of  somnambulism  at  the  same  time.  The 
perfection  of  the  sensitive's  acting,  when  personifying 
diverse  individualities,  is  most  striking  when  they  have 
known    the    persons  they  are   imitating.      Observation 


252         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

is    extremely    interesting.      In   spiritistic    seances   these 
personalities,  naturally,  always  represent  spirits. 

I  have  seen  nothing  in  this  order  of  phenomenon 
which  appeared  to  me  worth  noting.  Everything  is 
easily  explained  by  the  play  of  impersonal  memory  and 
by  imitation.  Many  transcendental  facts  have  been 
related  to  me  :  personally  I  have  observed  none.  But 
I  have  very  rarely  tried  to  provoke  trance  phenomena. 
They  do  not  present  the  same  interest  to  me  as  physical 
phenomena  do.  The  most  interesting  I  have  seen,  were 
given  me  by  Madame  Agullana,  in  private  seances. 
This  sensitive's  most  curious  personality  is  that  of  a 
doctor,  who  died  about  eighty  or  a  hundred  years  ago  : 
he  has  always  refused  to  give  any  information  concerning 
his  identity ;  the  reason  he  advances  for  maintaining  his 
incognito — the  existence  of  his  family,  members  of  whom 
are  living  in  the  south  of  France — does  not  satisfy 
me  ;  I  imagine  he  is  withholding  the  best.  His  medical 
language  is  archaic.  He  calls  plants  by  their  ancient 
medical  names  ;  his  diagnosis,  accompanied  with  extra- 
ordinary explanations,  is  generally  correct,  but  the 
description  of  the  internal  symptoms  which  he  perceives 
is  such  as  would  astound  a  doctor  of  the  twentieth 
century.  Matters,  fluids,  molecules,  dance  a  strange 
saraband.  Nevertheless,  my  colleague  from  beyond  the 
tomb — not  at  all  loquacious,  by  the  way — retains  a 
serenity,  which  is  proof  against  everything,  and  humbly 
recognises  that  there  are  many  things  he  does  not  know. 
During  the  ten  years  I  have  been  observing  him,  he  has 
not  changed,  and  presents  a  logical  continuity  which  is 
most  striking.  Persons,  who  are  not  au  courant  with 
the  features  of  secondary  personalities,  might  easily  be 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       253 

deceived  and  believe  in  his  objective  reality.  Be  he  what 
he  says  he  is,  or  be  he  what  I  suspect  him  to  be,  that  is 
to  say,  one  of  the  sensitive's  secondary  personalities, 
my  confrere  Hippolytus  is  an  interesting  interlocutor, 
and,  with  his  conversation,  one  could  write  a  work  on 
clinical  medicine  which  would  be  rather  out  of  the 
common.  This  is  not  the  place  to  study  him,  for  his 
examination  only  raises  problems  of  psychological 
interest.  In  these  phenomena  of  mixed  automatism,  of 
'  incarnation,'  we  observe  the  complete  development  of 
personifications.  These  personifications  are  the  feature 
common  to  all  psychical  phenomena.  Raps  claim  to 
emanate  from  a  given  personality,  paranormal  move- 
ments have  the  same  pretension,  automatic  script  assures 
us  of  a  like  origin  :  '  incarnation '  or  *  control '  puts 
forth  the  claim  of  being  the  personality  himself,  in  full 
possession  of  the  sensitive's  body,  directing  and  using 
it  as  he  pleases. 

The  problem  which  these  personifications  set  before 
us  is,  perhaps,  the  most  interesting  of  all  those  which 
are  to  be  met  with,  in  the  kind  of  study  to  which  this 
book  is  consecrated.  I  have  pointed  out,  that  the  general 
feature  of  these  personifications  is  to  present  themselves 
as  living — or  more  usually  deceased  human  beings.  My 
observations  do  not  tend  to  make  me  think  that  this 
claim  is  well  founded.  It  does  not  come  within  the 
scheme  of  my  work  to  analyse  the  different  hypotheses, 
which  have  been  emitted  by  the  different  mystic  schools. 
Occultists  profess  to  see  astral  shells,  in  these  personifica- 
tions, debris — still  organised — of  the  body's  astral  double, 
which  the  superior  principles  have  abandoned.  Theoso- 
phists  have  about  the  same    theory,  designating  these 


^54         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

debris  by  the  name  of  elementals.  Spiritists  attribute 
their  phenomena  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Roman 
Catholics  see  the  intervention  of  the  devil  therein,  while 
the  greater  number  of  savants  only  see  fraud  or  chimera. 
All  these  opinions  are  too  absolute.  There  is,  certainly, 
something  ;  but  I  think  this  something  is  neither  spirit, 
shell,  elemental  nor  demon.  It  is  not  my  province 
to  formulate  in  detail  my  theory:  properly  speaking, 
I  have  not  any.  I  observe  without  bias  of  any  kind, 
and  the  only  indication  I  can  give  is  the  following  : — 
in  almost  every  case  I  have  studied,  I  believe  I  recognised 
the  mentality  of  the  medium  and  the  sitters  in  the 
personification.  It  is  true,  there  are  certain  cases  which 
I  cannot  explain  in  this  way  ;  but  the  spirit  hypothesis 
explains  them  still  less  satisfactorily.  We  must  continue 
seeking. 

The  examples  I  have  given  of  intellectual  phenomena 
show  that  in  every  case  of  which  I  have  been  able  to 
make  a  thorough  analysis,  we  discover  the  action  of  the 
impersonal  consciousness.  This  explains  itself  naturally, 
since  the  personal  and  voluntary  consciousness  excludes 
by  definition  the  co-existence  of  a  second  personality. 
Nevertheless,  this  is  not  absolutely  true.  The  medium, 
of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  he  who  produces  raps 
when  writing,  writes  automatically  while  he  speaks,  in 
quite  a  natural  way,  of  other  things.  In  fact,  he  only 
writes  well  when  his  attention  is  drawn  away  from  his 
hand.  As  soon  as  he  is  conscious  of  the  movement, 
the  writing  ceases.  Things  happen  with  him,  as  though 
the  normal  consciousness  lost  all  contact  with  the  motor 
centres  of  the  arm  and  hand.  A  special  consciousness 
appears  to  be  developed  in  these  centres. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       255 

THE    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    AUTOMATISM 

The  difficulty,  which  is  raised  by  the  interpretation 
of  facts  of  the  kind  exposed  above,  is  considerable.  It 
is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  sensitive  of  whom  I  have 
just  spoken,  does  not  appear  to  suffer  any  diminution 
of  his  normal  personality  ;  he  converses  with  facility, 
his  normal  personal  souvenirs  and  his  intelligence  remain 
intact.  His  arm  and  hand  alone,  especially  the  latter, 
are  withdrawn  from  consciousness,  and  this  in  the 
sensitive  as  well  as  in  the  motor  spheres.  Janet  sees  in 
these  facts  psychological  disaggregation,  and  in  many 
cases  his  explication  is  the  correct  one.  But  it  cannot 
be  applied  to  the  case  I  am  speaking  of,  for  no 
diminution  in  the  memory,  intelligence  or  mental 
activity  is  perceptible.  However,  Janet  seems  to  have 
only  seen  one  of  the  phases  of  these  curious  pheno- 
mena. I  attach  so  much  importance  to  the  establishing 
of  the  point  de  fait  that,  before  all  analysis  thereof, 
I  desire  to  state  it  precisely,  successively  with  the 
discussion. 

The  first  circumstance  of  fact  which  observation  of 
the  case  I  am  examining  reveals,  is  the  one  I  have 
just  pointed  out :  an  apparent  dissociation  of  the  normal 
personality,  from  the  cenesthesic  consciousness  of  which 
a  portion  of  the  body  is  withdrawn.  The  second 
circumstance  is  the  relative  knowledge  of  English — 
with  correct  orthography  excepting  one  mistake  only — 
which  is  shown  by  the  apparently  self-governed  limb. 
Note  also  that  I  feel  sure  that  this  knowledge  of  English 
is  probably  subconscious,  and  that  I  have  supposed, 
although  this  has  not  been  proved,  that  the  writer  has 


256         METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

now  and  then  come  across  a  few  English  sentences, 
containing  the  phrases  written  by  him.  These  two 
circumstances  are,  for  me,  observed  facts. 

From  these  facts  there  results  a  third  fact,  the  conse- 
quence of  the  first  two  :  the  consciousness,  which  directs 
the  limb  withdrawn  from  the  personality,  appears  to  have 
more  considerable  resources — at  least  from  a  memory 
point  of  view — than  the  normal  consciousness.  If  it  be 
correct  to  speak  of  apparent  disaggregation  in  that  which 
concerns  the  conscious  normal  personality,  it  seems  to  me 
that  this  expression  ceases  to  represent  the  facts,  as  soon 
as  it  can  be  demonstrated,  that  the  consciousness  mani- 
fested by  the  automatism  is  more  extensive  than  the 
normal  consciousness.  If  we  are  to  attach  a  precise 
meaning  to  language — and  Janet's  language  is  so  clear 
and  simple  that  we  may  not  accuse  this  elegant  and 
remarkable  writer  of  want  of  precision — the  idea  of 
disaggregation  implies  the  division  of  the  personal 
consciousness  into  elementary  parts,  according  to  defini- 
tion, lesser  than  the  whole.  This  phenomenon  is 
frequently  observed,  e.g.  when  automatic  writing  shows 
itself  to  be  incapable  of  logical  co-ordination,  of  which 
I  have  given  examples  ;  sometimes  there  is  no  trace 
of  thought,  properly  so  called,  e.g.  when  the  sensitive 
confines  himself  to  repeating  sine  die  the  same  letter,  or 
traces  nothing  but  lines,  and  strokes,  etc.  But  can  we 
consider  the  case  as  one  of  veritable  disaggregation  where 
the  hand,  withdrawn  from  normal  consciousness,  appears 
to  dispose  of  a  greater  mass  of  souvenirs  than  the  normal 
consciousness  does } 

Janet  himself  has  verified  the  fact,  and  gives  some 
examples  of  it  in  his  work,  Nevroses  et  idees  fixes ^  vol   i. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       257 

After  that,  is  it  not  contradictory  to  say  {^Jutomatisme 
psychologique,  p.  452)  :  *  The  result  of  our  studies  has 
been  to  bring  back  the  diverse  phenomena  of  automatism 
to  their  essential  conditions — most  of  these  phenomena 
depend  upon  a  state  of  anaesthesia  or  abstraction.  This 
state  is  connected  with  the  narrowing  of  the  field  of 
consciousness,  and  this  narrowing  itself  is  due  to  the 
feebleness  of  synthesis  and  the  disaggregation  of  the 
mental  compound  into  diverse  groups  smaller  than  they 
should  normally  be.  These  diverse  points  are  easy  to 
verify  ;  the  state  of  abstraction,  incoherence,  of  dis- 
aggregation, in  a  word,  of  suggestible  individuals  has 
often  been  pointed  out.'  How  can  a  group,  smaller 
than  the  mental  compound  of  which  it  forms  one  of 
the  parts,  be  more  considerable  than  that  compound? 
How  can  a  part  be  greater  than  its  whole  ?  This  is, 
nevertheless,  a  fact  easily  verifiable  in  the  domain  of 
memory  and  sometimes  in  that  of  intelligence.  Janet's 
theory  explains  only  some  of  the  observable  facts  ;  it 
is  only  partially  true.  It  suffices  to  compare  the  quota- 
tion I  have  just  given  with  what  he  says  in  his  work, 
JSIevroses  et  idees  fixes,  vol.  i.  p.  137  :  *  The  souvenir 
even  in  somnambulism  only  exists  if  the  patient  be 
oblivious  to  everything  and  replies  automatically  to 
questions,  by  the  mechanical  association  of  ideas  without 
reflection,  without  the  personal  perception  of  what  he  is 
doing. 

' .  .  .  The  souvenir,  in  a  word,  is  only  manifested 
unknown  to  the  person  :  it  disappears  when  the  person 
has  to  speak  or  write  in  his  own  name,  conscious  of  what 
he  is  doing.'  For  Janet  this  is  the  sign  of  mental 
disaggregation. 

R 


258        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

The  quotations  I  have  just  given  define  sharply  Janet's 
opinion,  and  show  up  his  mistake  and  his  contradiction. 
That  which  becomes  disaggregated  is  the  personality^  the 
personal  consciousness.  But  it  does  not  become  resolved 
into  groups  smaller  than  they  ought  normally  to  be, 
since  these  groups  often  show  themselves  to  be  more 
comprehensive  than  the  mental  compound.  It  is,  there- 
fore, illogical  to  consider  them  as  a  part  which  has 
become  dissociated  from  the  whole. 

I  have  already  had  occasion  to  express  my  manner  of 
thinking  in  other  writings  :  nevertheless,  perhaps  I  may 
be  permitted  to  indicate  the  direction  which  psychological 
interpretation  should  take  in  order  to  avoid  an  encounter 
with  facts. 

The  personal  consciousness  is  only  one  of  the  modali- 
ties of  the  general  consciousness.  Clinical  observation 
reveals  that,  in  a  great  many  cases,  it  has  been  proved, 
that  the  souvenirs  stored  up  in  the  general  conscious- 
ness are  infinitely  more  numerous,  than  those  which 
the  personal  consciousness  has  at  its  free  disposition. 
Myers  has  expressed  these  ideas  most  happily  in  the 
following  words  ('  The  Subliminal  Consciousness,'  Fro- 
ceedings^  S.  P,  R.y  vii.  p.  301)  : — 

*  I  suggest,  then,  that  the  stream  of  consciousness  in 
which  we  habitually  live  is  not  the  only  consciousness 
which  exists  in  connection  with  our  organism.  Our 
habitual  or  empirical  consciousness  may  consist  of  a 
mere  selection  from  a  multitude  of  thoughts  and  sensa- 
tions, of  which  some  at  least  are  equally  conscious  with 
those  that  we  empirically  know.  I  accord  no  primacy 
to  my  ordinary  waking  self,  except  that  among  my 
potential  selves  this  one  has  shown  itself  the  fittest  to 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA        259 

meet  the  needs  of  common  life.  I  hold  that  it  has 
established  no  further  claim,  and  that  it  is  perfectly 
possible  that  other  thoughts,  feelings,  and  memories, 
either  isolated  or  in  continuous  connection,  may  now 
be  actively  conscious,  as  we  say,  *  within  me ' — in  some 
kind  of  co-ordination  with  my  organism,  and  forming 
some  part  of  my  total  individuality.  I  conceive  it 
possible  that  at  some  future  time,  and  under  changed 
conditions,  I  may  recollect  all;  I  may  assume  these 
various  personalities  under  one  single  consciousness,  in 
which  ultimate  and  complete  consciousness  the  empirical 
consciousness  which  at  this  moment  directs  my  hand 
may  be  only  one  element  out  of  many.' 

He  appears  to  me  to  be  nearer  the  truth  than  Janet  is  : 
I  do  not  know  if  we  shall  ever  arrive  at  that  complete 
consciousness  which  Myers  hopes  for,  but  it  seems  to 
me  probable,  that  our  personal  consciousness  is  only 
one  element  of  our  general  consciousness.  This  latter 
becomes  concrete  and  definite,  but  also  grows  less  by 
becoming  personal.  The  apparent  supremacy  of  the 
personal  consciousness  may  be  only  an  effect  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  are  evolving  ;  if  Darwin's 
ideas  are  true,  we  can  understand  that  the  necessities 
of  life  may  have  favoured  the  development  of  the  active, 
voluntary,  personal  consciousness  ;  we  can  imagine  other 
conditions — which  the  monastic  life  sometimes  realises 
— where  the  active  and  voluntary  phases  of  the  general 
consciousness  may  be  less  evolved  than  its  receptive  and 
passive  phases.  Therefore,  the  psychologist  finds  the 
study  of  hagiography  teeming  with  information. 

Janet's  disaggregation  is  but  the  weakening  of  the 
sentiment    of    the    conscious    and    voluntary   personal 


26o        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

activity,  of  what  I  called  the  sentiment  of  the  personal 
participation  in  intercurrent  psychological  phenomena. 
It  is  no  veritable  disaggregation  ;  it  is  a  disappearance 
of  one  modality  of  the  consciousness,  of  one  of  its 
limited  expressions^  so  to  speak.  However,  I  recognise, 
with  Janet,  that  this  mode  of  expression  of  the  con- 
sciousness is  the  necessary  basis  of  our  activity  in 
ordinary  life^  and  that  it  is  legitimate  to  consider  as 
invalids,  those  persons  in  whom  it  is  normally  wanting. 
But  the  fact  itself  of  its  disappearance  has  more  the 
features  of  an  integration  than  of  a  disintegration^  since 
upon  an  attentive  examination,  the  personal  consciousness 
is  revealed  as  a  limitation  and  a  special  determination  of 
the  general  consciousness  of  which  it  is,  in  a  way,  a 
dismemberment.  If  I  dared  to  use  metaphysical 
language,  I  would  say  that  rational  and  voluntary 
activity  is  in  reality  a  disaggregation ;  personality  is 
only  a  contingent  and  limited  manifestation  of  the 
being,  or  rather  of  individuality.  This  latter,  to  use 
the  expression  of  an  eminent  philosopher,  would  be 
superior  to  reason  itself,  and  of  irrational  essence,  an 
idea  which  contains  the  first  principles  of  a  new  philo- 
sophy. I  make  this  incursion  into  metaphysics  merely 
to  show  how  narrow  Janet's  theories  are,  and  what 
different  consequences  result  from  such  a  professional 
manner  of  thinking  as  his  is,  and  from  a  more  general 
conception  of  that,  of  which  his  manner  of  thinking  only 
concerns  one  particular  case. 

The  facts,  moreover,  condemn  Janet's  theory.  I 
have  too  high  an  opinion  of  the  distinguished  man 
whose  ideas  I  criticise,  but  whose  works  I  admire 
sincerely,  not  to  be  convinced  that  he  has  only  observed 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       261 

undeveloped  subjects.     What  demonstrates  this  in  my 
eyes  is  his  timid  affirmation,  that  '  nearly  always  (I  do 
not  say  always  in  order  not  to  prejudice  an  important 
question)  these  mediums  are  neurotics,  when  they   are 
not  downright  hysterics.'     It  is  difficult  to  discuss  an 
opinion    expressed    with    so    much    reserve,   and   I    can 
only   commend    him    for    his    circumspection,    for    my 
personal  observations  contradict  his.     I  have  seen  many 
mediums  :    the  best  were   not  neurotics  in   the   medical 
sense    of  the    word.      The   finest    experiments    I   have 
made  have  been  with  persons  appearing  to  present  none 
of  the  stlgmae  of  hysteria.     Up  to  the  present  Janet  seems 
to  have  operated  with  invalids  only,  and  I  am  not  sur- 
prised, therefore,  that  he  should  assimilate  the  automatic 
phenomena   of  sensitives    with    those    of  his    hysterical 
patients.     It  would  be  surprising  were  it  otherwise.     I 
am  not  going  to  defend  spiritistic  mediums  ;  they  appear 
to  me  to  present  very  poor  interest — at  least  in  ordinary 
seances — but  my  duty  is  to  protest  against  the  generality 
of  the  judgment  which  Janet  brings  to  bear  upon  auto- 
matic phenomena.      Those  facts,  which  are  worthy   of 
careful  observation,  differ  essentially  from  those  which 
ordinary    hysterics    present.       They    indicate    no    mis^re 
psychologique — quite  the    contrary,  and   I  will  state  the 
reasons  why. 

The  discussion,  in  order  to  be  clear,  must  be  divided  : 
I.  The  phenomena  observable  with  good  mediums 
are  not  those  we  observe  in  hysterical  patients.  I  said  I 
had  obtained  raps  and  movements  without  contact  under 
conditions  of  control,  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  con- 
vincing. I  added  that  I  had  obtained  by  raps,  or  by 
the   rappings   of  a   table   without   contact,    words   and 


262        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

phrases  which  were  extremely  coherent.  This  is  not 
quite  the  kind  of  phenomena  to  which  hospital  patients 
have  accustomed  us.  What  does  Janet  say  on  this 
point  ? 

*  The  essential  point  of  spiritism  is  indeed,  we  believe, 
the  disaggregation  of  psychological  phenomena,  and  the 
formation  beyond  the  personal  perception  of  a  second 
series  of  thoughts  detached  from  the  first.  As  for  the 
means  which  the  second  personality  employs  to  manifest 
itself  unknown  to  the  first — movements  of  tables,  auto- 
matic writing  or  speaking,  etc.  .  .  .  — this  is  a  secondary 
question  (sic).  Where  do  those  sounds  come  from 
which  are  heard  on  tables  and  walls  in  answer  to 
questions  ?  Is  it  from  a  movement  of  the  toes,  of  that 
contraction  of  the  tendon  supposed  by  Jobert  de 
Lamballe  .  .  .  ?  Is  it  from  a  contraction  of  the  stomach 
and  from  a  veritable  ventriloquism  as  Gros.  Jean 
supposes,  or  from  some  other  physical  action  yet 
unknown.^  Are  they  produced  by  the  automatic 
movements  of  the  medium  himself,  or,  indeed,  as 
appears  to  me  most  likely  in  some  cases,  in  the 
obscurity  demanded  by  the  spirits (\)  by  the  subconscious 
actions  of  one  of  the  assistants,  who  deceives  others 
and  himself  at  the  same  time,  and  who  becomes  an 
accomplice  without  knowing  it?  It  does  not  matter 
very  much.' 

That  is  not  my  opinion.  I  think,  on  the  contrary, 
it  matters  a  great  deal.  I  am  positive  that  every  sincere 
and  patient  experimenter  will  observe,  as  I  have  done, 
in  broad  daylight,  and  not  in  obscurity,  sounds  and 
movements  which  will  not  appear  to  be  explicable  by 
any    known    cause.       Those    who,    like    myself,    have 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       263 

verified  these  facts,  will  not  dream  of  attributing  them 
to  unconscious  or  involuntary  movements,  to  the 
cracking  of  a  tendon,  to  ventriloquism.  The  cases 
observed  by  me  will  not  admit  of  this  explanation. 
Things  happen  as  though  some  force  or  other  were 
produced  by  the  medium  and  the  assistants,  and  could 
act  beyond  the  limits  of  the  body.  If  this  fact  be 
correct,  can  we  consider  it  as  secondary  and  without 
importance?  On  the  contrary,  does  it  not  open  to 
the  psychology  of  the  future  the  road  of  direct 
observation  and  experimentation,  if,  as  I  have  tried  to 
show,  this  force  preserves  certain  relations  with  our 
general  consciousness  ?  Does  this  not  make  one  think 
of  those  words  of  Proclus  when  speaking  of  souls  : — 

TpLTT}  Se  avTOLS  Trdpeo-TLv  r)  /cam  7171^  iSiap  virap^iv 
evepyeia,  KiirqriKJ)  jxep  vTrdp^ovcra  rcov  (f)vcr€L 
krepoKivriTcxiv.  Souls  have  a  third  force  inherent  to 
their  essence,  that  of  moving  things  which  by  their  very 
nature  are  put  into  movement  by  an  energy  foreign  to 
themselves. 

Has  not  Janet  a  singular  way  of  reasoning  .?  He 
makes  a  reserve  on  the  existence  of  another  *  physical 
action  yet  unknown,'  but  quickly  forgets  it,  and  reasons 
as  though  that  action  were  perfectly  well  known.  *  That 
action,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  always  an  involuntary 
and  unconscious  action  of  some  one  or  other :  the 
involuntary  word  from  the  intestines  (!)  is  not  more 
miraculous  than  is  the  involuntary  word  from  the 
mouth  ;  it  is  the  psychological  side  of  the  problem 
which  is  the  most  interesting,  and  which  ought  to  be 
the  most  studied.' 

I  am  sure  that  those  of  my  readers,  whose  patience 


264       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

has  not  been  too  severely  tested  by  my  long  analysis 
of  facts  observed,  will  not  consider  my  distinguished 
colleague's  conclusion  as  acceptable.  The  most  interest- 
ing side  of  the  phenomenon  is,  I  think,  the  one  which 
reveals  to  us  an  apparently  new  mode  of  action  of  the 
nervous  influx  upon  matter. 

2.  These  phenomena,  again,  are  not  the  indication  of 
a  mis^re  psychologiquCy  as  Janet  thinks. 

Let  us  discuss  the  cases  observed  by  me.  To  follow 
my  reasoning,  it  will  be  necessary  to  be  familiar  with 
the  works  of  Gurney,  Podmore,  Sidgwick,  Myers, 
Barrett,  Hodgson,  Lodge,  Hyslop,  du  Prel,  Perty, 
Hellenbach,  Aksakow,  Richet,  de  Rochas.  To-day, 
it  is  no  longer  possible  to  shun  the  work  of  such  savants, 
(when  dealing  with  a  question  of  such  a  nature  as  that 
which  engrossed  Janet)  by  simply  saying  as  he  did  *  that 
he  had  not  had  occasion  to  read  the  Philosophie  der 
Mystik  of  a  man  like  du  Prel.'  He  should  have  read 
that  book  .  .  .  and  many  more. 

It  seems  to  me  to  be  now  quite  an  established  fact, 
that  the  impersonal  consciousness  is  capable  of  per- 
ceiving accurate  impressions  independently  of  the  senses. 
It  translates  these  impressions  in  diverse  ways  in  order 
to  transmit  them  to  the  personal  consciousness,  but 
these  translations  are  concrete  and  symbolical.  It  is 
a  hallucination  visual,  auditory,  or  tactile.  The  form 
of  subliminal  messages,  to  use  one  of  Myers'  expressions, 
is  always  the  same,  be  the  fact  thus  transmitted  true  or 
false,  be  it  a  reminiscence  or  a  premonition.  This  is 
already  a  psychological  ascertainment  of  great  importance, 
for  it  puts  us  on  the  road  we  must  follow,  in  order  to 
discover  the  mental  process  of  this  psychological  pheno- 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       265 

menon.  But  there  is  something  else.  The  hysteric 
who  automatically  simulates  a  drunkard,  a  general,  a 
child,  offers  us  a  very  different  spectacle  to  the  one 
offered  us  by  the  sensitive  who  telepathically  sees  an 
event  happening  afar  off,  or  who  predicts  the  future, 
or  reveals  facts  unknown  to  himself  and  the  assistants. 
There  are  thousands  of  examples  of  these  facts  ;  I  have 
given  a  few  which  were  observed  by  myself  or  related 
to  me  first-hand. 

Is  it  possible  to  consider  this  extraordinary  faculty  as 
a  *  disaggregation '  ?  Is  it  possible  to  class  phenomena 
of  this  kind  with  the  commonplace  phenomena  of 
somnambulism  and  *  incarnation,'  the  only  ones  Janet 
has  observed  ?  It  suffices  to  put  the  question  to  receive 
the  answer  immediately.  The  psychological  mechanism 
of  these  facts,  so  unlike  one  to  the  other,  is  probably  the 
same,  but  the  cause  of  the  apparent  automatism,  motor 
or  sensory,  is  certainly  not  the  same.  The  sensitive, 
of  whom  I  spoke,  who  sees  in  the  mirror  twenty-four 
hours  beforehand,  the  very  scenes  she  actually  sees  the 
next  day,  presents  to  us  a  phenomenon  of  considerable 
importance.  It  intimates  that  time  and  space  are  forms 
of  the  personal  thought  and  consciousness,  but  that 
probably  they  have  not  the  same  signification  for  the 
impersonal  consciousness.  It  is  a  phenomenon  which,  if 
it  be  true,  demonstrates  experimentally  that  Kant's  theory 
upon  the  contingency  of  these  '  categories '  necessary  to 
all  conscious  and  personal  perception  is  exact. 

I  am  quite  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  reply  I  shall 
meet  with  :  my  observations  have  been  defective  ;  and 
all  those  who  before  me  affirmed  the  existence  of  the 
same   facts  were   also    deceived.       This    simplifies   the 


266       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

discussion.  The  history  of  science  offers  us  many  an 
example  of  the  manner  in  which  facts  are  received,  when 
they  contradict  current  ideas.  Kant  said  more  than  a 
hundred  years  ago,  in  his  'Traume  eines  Geistersehers,  i ,  i. : 
*  Das  methodische  Geschwatz  der  hohen  Schulen  ist 
oftmals  nur  ein  Einverstandniss  durch  veranderliche 
Wortbedeutungen  eine  schwer  zu  losenden  Frage  auszu- 
weichen,  weil  das  bequeme  und  mehrentheils  verniinftige, 
**  Ich  weiss  nicht,"  auf  Akademien  nicht  leichtlich  gehort 
wird/^ 

The  discussion  on  Janet  recalled  to  my  mind  these 
words  of  Kant's.  His  expression,  misere  psychologique  is 
one  of  those  words  of  double  meaning,  true,  if  we  con- 
sider only  a  part  of  the  facts  and  one  aspect  only  of  the 
phenomenon,  that  which  concerns  the  personal  con- 
sciousness ;  inexact,  if  we  study  the  facts  in  their  totality 
and  the  phenomenon  they  reveal  in  its  generality.  The 
being  who  would  be  capable  of  perceiving  at  a  distance, 
by  looking  into  space  and  into  time,  would  have  faculties 
superior  to  the  normal ;  he  would  not  be  the  inferior 
being  imagined  by  Janet. 

An  attentive  and  patient  observation  will  show  him, 
I  am  sure,  the  reality  of  the  facts  which  I  point  out ; 
may  he  not  deny  this  possibility  without  putting  himself 
under  the  requisite  conditions  for  observing  these  facts. 

It  belongs  to  the  future  to  decide  the  question,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  whatever  upon  the  nature  of  the  verdict.^ 

To   sum    up,  an    attentive  observation    of  the  facts 

*  The  methodical  idle  prattle  of  the  high  schools  is  often  only  an  under- 
standing to  elude,  by  words  of  variable  acceptation,  a  question  difficult  of 
solution,  for  we  do  not  often  hear  in  academies  such  convenient  and  ordinarily 
intelligent  words  as  *  I  do  not  know/ 

2  See  Appendix  A. 


PSYCHO-SENSORY  PHENOMENA       267 

shows,  that  in  psychical  phenomena  we  observe  the 
emergence  of  personifications  which  may  be  secondary 
personalities,  but  which  in  really  clear  cases  present 
particular  features,  and  seem  to  possess  information 
which  is  inaccessible  to  the  normal  personality.  They 
may  co-exist  with  the  latter,  without  any  disorder 
manifesting  itself  in  the  sensitive  or  motor  spheres ;  in 
other  cases,  they  encroach  upon  the  normal  personality, 
which  may  either  lose  the  use  and  sensation  of  one  member, 
or  be  deprived  of  several  members.  Finally,  the 
personification  can  invade  the  whole  of  the  organism 
and  end  in  incarnation  or  *  control,'  a  phenomenon  of 
apparent  possession.  When  it  reaches  this  maximum 
development,  the  personification  manifests  a  remarkable 
autonomy,  and  appears  to  be  much  less  suggestible  than 
in  the  intermediate  stages  of  its  evolution. 

What  are  these  personifications  ^  I  do  not  know. 
The  problem  they  raise  in  some  cases  is  extremely 
difficult  to  solve.  I  can  only  say  that  they  do  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  what  they  claim  to  be.  Is  it 
collective  consciousness.?  Is  it  self-deception.?  Is  it 
a  spirit  ?  Everything  is  possible,  to  me  nothing  is 
certain  save  one  thing,  namely,  that  we  must  not  put 
our  trust  in  them. 

I  say  this  for  the  benefit  of  spiritists,  who  have  a 
tendency  to  believe  blindly  everything  their  good  spirits 
tell  them.  These  '  spirits  '  may  make  mistakes,  though 
they  may  not  wish  to  deceive  you.  Never  abandon 
yourself  or  submit  the  conduct  of  your  life  and  affairs 
to  their  guidance  :  submit  only  to  the  rule  of  reason 
and  sound  judgment.     Be  not  over-credulous.^ 

1  See  Appendix  C. 


268        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOME    RECENTLY   OBSERVED   PSYCHICAL 
PHENOMENA 

An  account  of  some  recently  observed  Psychical  Phenomena 
produced  in  the  presence  of  Doctor  Maxwell  and 
Professor  Charles  Richet.  Arranged  by  the  Translator 
from  notes  furnished  by  Dr.  Maxwell} 

During  the  last  two  years  exceptional  opportunities 
have  been  oiFered  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Maxwell 
of  observing  a  medium — whom  we  will  call  Meurice — 
who  has  furnished  Dr.  Maxwell  with  many  of  his  most 
important  examples  of  psychical  phenomena.  I  refer  to 
phenomena  spoken  of  on  pp.  74,  81-2,  101-3,  136-7, 
152-5,  160-2,  195-9,  201-2,  250. 

Dr.  X. — a  friend  of  Professor  Richet — who  does  not 
wish  his  name  to  be  mentioned,  having  been  present 
with  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Maxwell  at  some  of  their 
experiments,  has  sent  Dr.  Maxwell  a  few  notes  con- 
cerning those  seances  at  which  he  was  present.  Dr. 
Maxwell  has  authorised  me  to  put  these  notes  in  order, 
and  to  add  to  them  a  few  extracts  from  letters  written  by 
Dr.  Maxwell  to  Professor  Richet  and  myself. 

These  notes  and  letters  were  written  either  during 

1  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  certify  to  the  accuracy  of  the  phenomena 
mentioned  in  this  chapter,  especially  when  I  am  spoken  of  as  having  been 
present. — M  a  x  w  e  l  l  . 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     269 

or  immediately  after  the  seances,  if  I  may  so  call  the 
impromptu  occasions  on  which  the  phenomena  to  be 
spoken  of  were  obtained. 

There  is,  in  these  notes,  a  miscellaneous  stream  of 
evidence,  the  complexity  and  importance  of  which  may 
be  presumed,  when  it  is  pointed  out  that  a  useful  com- 
bination of  two  orders  of  research  has  been  at  work 
therein.  Dr.  Maxwell  was  chiefly  interested  in  the 
study  of  the  facts  concomitant  with  the  phenomena, 
whatever  they  might  be,  whilst  Professor  Richet  devoted 
himself  to  the  analysis  of  the  personifications,  and  to  the 
study  of  the  manifestations  from  a  purely  psychological 
point  of  view. 

Evidence  is  the  touchstone  of  truth,  and  though 
the  reading  of  parts  of  this  chapter  may  sound  more 
like  pages  out  of  a  fantastic  story  than  the  words 
of  savants,  yet  the  publication  of  these  facts  has  been 
judged  necessary  by  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Maxwell, 
in  their  belief  that  no  one  is  justified  in  setting  aside 
facts  which  have  been  well  attested.  These  facts  have 
been  observed — let  it  not  be  forgotten — in  a  spirit  of 
pure  scientific  curiosity. 

It  is,  therefore,  hoped  that  this  chapter  will  receive 
the  thoughtful  consideration  of  many  ;  and  that  careful 
analysis  will  be  especially  given  to  those  very  parts,  the 
unreal-like  romantic  nature  of  which  seems  to  render 
them,  at  a  random  glance,  unworthy  of  serious  thought. 

THE    MEDIUM    AND    HIS    PHENOMENA 

An  acute  analysis  of  a  medium  is  of  primary 
importance  in  the  examination  and  appreciation  of  his 


270       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

phenomena,  therefore  we  will  first  of  all  dwell  a  little  on 
the  personality  of  M.  Meurice,  the  medium  in  question. 

He  is  a  friend  of  Dr.  Maxwell's — a  friend  of  some 
years'  standing. 

He  is  a  slightly  built  man,  the  reverse  of  robust, 
but  endowed  with  remarkable  vitality  and  recuperative 
powers.  He  is  thirty-two  years  of  age  ;  he  is  unmarried. 
He  is  highly  sensitive  and  reserved  in  disposition,  and 
forms  quick  but  lasting  sympathies  and  antipathies. 
He  gives  one  the  impression  of  being  always  in  a  state 
of  hypertension ;  his  nervous  system  is  most  finely 
strung,  and  he  appears  to  experience  an  irresistible  need 
of  constant  physical  movement.  He  passes  easily  from 
the  extremes  of  joy  to  the  extremes  of  sadness.  Highly 
nervous  though  he  be,  Dr.  Maxwell  has  never  observed 
any  signs  of  hysteria,  or  any  symptoms  of  a  lack  of 
equilibrium  in  the  medium's  mentality.  He  is  not 
amenable  to  the  hypnotic  sleep,  but  Dr.  Maxwell  says 
he  has  sometimes  thought  that  he  might  eventually 
succeed  in  inducing  that  state.  The  few  attempts  so 
far  made  in  this  direction  have  given  no  results  ;  more- 
over, M.  Meurice  does  not  care  to  submit  himself  to 
this  kind  of  experimentation.  His  cutaneous  and  other 
sensibilities  are  normal  ;  his  reflexes  also  are  normal. 

He  suffers  occasionally  from  violent  headaches  and 
neuralgia  ;  and  has  frequent  gastric  attacks,  notably  after 
the  production  of  telekinetic  phenomena.  Otherwise  his 
health  is  good.  During  the  production  of  phenomena, 
M.  Meurice  often  acknowledges  to  a  sinking  sensation 
in  the  epigastric  region,  and  says  it  is  as  though  some- 
thing material  were  being  drawn  out  of  him  at  such 
moments. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     271 

He  is  well  read  in  every  branch  of  literature,  and  has 
a  most  retentive  memory.  One  has  the  notion  that  this 
medium,  to  a  great  extent,  has  under  his  conscious 
control  a  large  range  of  what  is  generally  submerged 
faculty. 

Subliminal  operation  is,  no  doubt,  constantly  going 
on  with  us  all,  but  it  is  most  apparent  in  M.  Meurice. 
One  feels  with  him  that  his  unconscious  memory  is  always 
on  the  alert. 

Amnesia  appears  to  follow  rapidly  in  the  footsteps  of 
his  visions,  but  several  things  seem  to  indicate  that  this 
amnesia  is  only  apparent.-^ 

Dr.  Maxwell  says  he  always  thought  he  had  a  psychic 
in  his  friend.  However,  notwithstanding  his  medical 
studies,  and  wide  range  of  knowledge  of  things  in 
general,  M.  Meurice  was  ignorant  of  metapsychical 
phenomena,  and  averse  to  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
practices  of  spiritism  or  anything  of  that  nature.  Little 
by  little  Dr.  Maxwell  induced  his  friend  to  take  some 
interest  in  these  phenomena,  and  one  day  he  persuaded 
him  to  put  his  hands  on  a  table  with  a  view  to  seeing 
whether  the  two  of  them  together  could  obtain  any 
phenomena.  Raps  were  immediately  forthcoming  ;  they 
resounded  on  the  floor.  The  medium  was  startled  by 
the  unusual  noise  and  quickly  rose  from  the  table. 
Nothing    more   was   received    on    that  occasion    or  for 

1  The  amnesia,  which  appears  to  follow  medianic  phenomena,  bears  a 
certain  relation  to  the  amnesia  which  follows  dreams.  It  is  probably  due  to 
the  weakness  of  the  links  between  the  conscious  personality  and  the  forgotten 
images.  The  links  exist,  but  are  not  strong  enough  to  bind  those  images  to 
the  usual  stream  of  personal  consciousness.  They  serve  as  clues,  however,  and 
the  reappearance  of  the  images  at  a  given  moment  is  due  to  the  working  of 
the  usual  laws  of  association. — Maxwell. 


272        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

some  time  afterwards.  Then,  for  two  years,  M.  Meurice 
reluctantly  and  irregularly  yielded  to  Dr.  Maxwell's 
persuasions  to  develop  his  medianity. 

For  some  time  he  could  not  be  made  to  see  the  im- 
portance of  his  phenomena,  and  Dr.  Maxwell  refused 
to  give  weight  to  his  words  by  appealing  to  technical 
literature.  He  was  desirous  of  keeping  his  friend 
in  ignorance  of  current  notions  on  these  phenomena, 
thinking  the  results  would  be  of  greater  value  if  the  soil 
they  sprang  from  were  virgin. 

M.  Meurice  has  done  all  in  his  power  to  throw  light 
upon  his  own  phenomena.  His  co-operation  has  been 
precious,  for  often  his  fine  intelligence  and  well-trained 
powers  of  observation  have  enabled  him  to  bring  into 
the  research  valuable  analyses  of  his  sensations  and 
impressions.  For  this  medium  not  only  does  not  lose 
consciousness  during  the  production  of  his  phenomena, 
he  is  often  at  such  moments  more  thoroughly  '  all 
there ' — to  use  a  Scotch  expression — than  in  his  unpro- 
ductive moments  of  abstraction.  True,  there  have  been 
a  few  exceptions,  but,  as  a  rule,  he  is  keenly  alive  to 
all  that  is  going  on  when  phenomena  is  forthcoming. 

The  passages  I  have  indicated  in  Dr.  Maxwell's  work 
will  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  order  and  degree  of 
phenomena  presented  by  M.  Meurice,  when  Professor 
Richet  made  his  acquaintance.  Dr.  Maxwell  had  studied, 
almost  exclusively,  the  physical  aspect  of  the  facts  he 
received,  and  did  not  encourage  phenomena  of  an  intel- 
lectual order.  This  scientific  attitude,  however,  had  not 
prevented  the  manifestation  of  the  phenomenon  of  per- 
sonification ;  and  the  '  raps '  speedily  put  forth  the  claims 
common  to  spiritualistic  beliefs — in  spite  of  the  medium's 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     273 

ignorance  of  them.  When  Professor  Richet  began  to 
experiment  with  M.  Meurice,  the  *  raps  '  had  already 
claimed  to  emanate  from  *  John  King,'  '  Chappe  d'Aute- 
roche/  a  group  of  four  entities  calling  themselves  the 
'good  fairies/  and,  lastly,  from  two  of  Dr.  Maxwell's 
deceased  friends. 

As  the  capital  interest  of  this  chapter  lies  in  the 
intelligent  aspect  of  the  phenomena,  there  is  a  fact  of 
paramount  importance  to  be  pointed  out  with  emphasis. 

Our  medium  is  very  amenable  to  influence,  and  his 
phenomena  constantly  show  the  effects  of  suggestion  and 
influence.  I  do  not,  by  any  means,  wish  to  infer  that 
M.  Meurice  is  like  wax  in  the  hands  of  his  friends  ;  on 
the  contrary,  if  it  were  only  a  question  of  personal 
consciousness,  we  might  say  he  is  almost  impervious 
to  the  action  of  extraneous  influences.  His  ways  of 
thinking  and  acting  bear  the  stamp  of  independence, 
and  if  he  yields  occasionally  to  the  wishes  of  his 
friends,  it  is  out  of  pure  friendship  and  with  delibera- 
tion. When,  however,  we  are  endeavouring  to  make  a 
psychological  study  of  a  medium,  we  strive  to  reach  the 
lower  strata  at  once  ;  the  surface  is  of  little  interest  when 
we  know  that  the  secret  lies  below.  Therefore,  when 
I  say  that  M.  Meurice  is  most  amenable  to  influence,  I 
am  bearing  in  mind  that  profound  region,  his  general 
consciousness.  The  personal  consciousness  may  be 
rebellious  to  influence,  but  the  subliminal  is  reached  by 
subtler  means  than  is  its  grosser  envelope,  and  is 
remarkably  amenable  to  the  charm  of  suggestion  and  the 
voice  of  sympathy.  In  all  probability  the  reader  will 
find  sufficient  evidence  of  the  accuracy  of  my  assertion 
in  the  phenomena  to  be  spoken  of  in  the  course  of  this 

s 


274       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

chapter  ;  therefore,  I  will  not  dwell  any  further  upon 
this  point,  although  it  be  an  important  one. 

When  experimenting  with  Eusapia  Paladino,  Professor 
Richet  had  remarked  and  called  attention  to  the  syn- 
chronism which  existed  between  her  phenomena  and  her 
movements  or  muscular  contractions.  Dr.  Maxwell,  in 
his  turn,  also  remarked  it,  and  forthwith  bent  his  studies 
in  that  direction.  The  conclusion  appears  to  be  evident 
that  a  profound  and  far-reaching  importance  lies  in  the 
synchronism  between  the  movements  of  the  experimenters 
and  the  phenomena.  It  was  observed  that  Dr.  Maxwell 
was  indeed  able  to  produce  phenomena  of  raps  and 
telekinesis  [of  very  feeble  intensity,  it  is  true]  by  tap- 
ping the  medium  on  his  hands  or  shoulder,  by  firmly 
squeezing  the  hands,  joined  in  a  circle  above  the  table, 
or  by  the  simple  contraction  of  his  own  muscles. 

En  passant^  it  may  be  useful  to  note  that  Dr.  X.  was 
opposed  to  the  idea  that  synchronism  always  existed 
between  the  phenomena  and  the  movements  of  the 
experimenters,  that  is  to  say,  that  muscular  contraction 
was  alone  responsible  for  the  phenomena.  Dr.  X.  was 
so  opposed  to  this  notion,  that  his  presence  at  seances 
where  this  synchronism  was  being  demonstrated,  has 
often  been  observed  to  cause  all  manifestations  to  cease 
— to  nullify  the  results.  If  Dr.  X.  was  able  to  exercise 
this  power  over  one  centre,  it  is  highly  probable  that  his 
presence  would  exercise  a  like  inhibitory  influence  over 
other  centres  of  energy,  where  like  experiments  were 
being  conducted. 

Though  Dr.  Maxwell  had  obtained  not  a  few 
phenornena  showing  intelligence  {e.g.  raps  claiming  to 
emanate  from  various  personifications),  yet,  as  he  says 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     275 

in  his  book,  pages  26,  28,  and  83,  he  did  not  feel 
drawn  towards  that  order  of  research,  and  did  his  best 
to  keep  the  phenomena  on  physical  lines.  But  since 
Professor  Richet  has  experimented  with  M.  Meurice,  the 
phenomena  have  developed  rapidly  along  the  lines  of 
intellectuality :  a  result  which  may,  it  is  true,  be  due  to 
our  medium's  good-nature  in  allowing  his  power  to  be 
used  as  was  desired,  or  which  may  be  the  effect  of 
influence  and  suggestion.  We  are  inclined  to  think 
the  latter  is  nearer  the  truth,  an  opinion  which  is  sup- 
ported by  the  fact  that  when  Dr.  X.  and  Professor 
Richet  were  present — that  is  to  say,  within  a  few  days 
after  Dr.  X/s  appearance  in  the  circle — synchronous 
phenomena  could  rarely  be  obtained.^ 

Now,  all  unknown  to  Dr.  Maxwell,  Professor  Richet 
had  passed  the  previous  three  years  in  the  study  of  these 
same  phenomena  from  a  psychological  standpoint,  and 
at  the  moment  of  his  first  visit  to  Bordeaux,  he  was 
particularly  absorbed  in  the  research  and  analysis  of 
intelligent  messages  received  by  means  of  a  physical 
phenomenon.  His  desire,  for  the  time  being,  was  to 
receive  messages — of  identity  or  otherwise — by  means  of 
raps  without  contact. 

Already  familiar  with  the  fact  of  synchronism — which 
a  little  experience  suffices  to  show  is  not  due  to  self- 
suggestion  or  endosomatic  activity — Professor  Richet 
wished  to  get  on  to  fresh  ground  ;  as  before  said,  he 
wanted  intellectuality  in  a  physical  phenomenon,  and  it 

*  '  Vous  voyez,  cher  ami,  que  depuis  que  nous  avons  experimente  ensemble, 
votre  influence  persiste  et  nos  phenomenes  physiques  s'orientent  vers  les 
messages  intellectuels.' — Extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Maxwell  to 
Professor  Richet  six  weeks  after  the  first  series  of  experiments  with  Professor 
Richet  were  held. 


276       METAPSYCHTCAL  PHENOMENA 

was  not  long  before  he  got  what  he  wanted   with  the 
medium  in  question. 

And,  a  propos,  perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  briefly 
relate  at  once  the  first  phenomenon  containing  intel- 
ligence, which  Professor  Richet  obtained  with  M. 
Meurice.  A  short  time  after  having  made  his  ac- 
quaintance, the  professor  and  Dr.  X.  thought  they 
would  try  to  obtain  a  *  test.*  Supposing,  for  a  moment, 
that  an  entity,  who  has  several  times  claimed  to  be  com- 
municating with  Professor  Richet,  really  existed,  they 
'  evoked  *  him,  and  asked  him  to  give  them  a  sign  through 
M.  Meurice,  which  would  denote  that  he  had  been 
listening  to  a  certain  conversation  held  two  hours  previ- 
ously. The  medium  and  Dr.  Maxwell  were  unaware 
that  this  entity  had  a  speciality  of  communicating  in 
Latin  or  Greek.  A  few  hours  afterwards,  during 
dinner,  raps  were  heard  on  the  table  and  other  furniture 
in  the  vicinity  of  M.  Meurice ;  when  the  question  was 
asked  as  to  who  was  rapping,  the  Christian  name  of  the 
entity  was  given,  followed  by  the  word  Confide.  No  word, 
it  appears,  could  have  borne  more  directly  upon  the  con- 
versation in  question.  There  was  difficulty  in  obtaining 
these  two  words,  the  raps — in  such  abundance  when  not 
requested  to  ^  work ' — came  laboriously,  as  though  some 
one  were  picking  his  steps  among  brambles,  so  to  speak. 
The  medium  himself  spelt  out  the  alphabet  on  this 
occasion. 

Dr.  Maxwell  has  given  an  analysis  of  the  raps  obtained 
with  M.  Meurice,  and  we  especially  refer  the  reader  to 
pages  79-82  and  250. 

When    raps    without    contact    delay    in   coming,    M. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     277 

Meurice  takes  a  lead-pencil,  holds  it  in  his  hands,  and 
presses  one  end  against  the  table  or  on  an  experimenter 
according  to  desire  ;  the  raps  then  resound  at  the  end 
touching  the  experimenter  or  the  table. 

Anassthesia  is  observed  only  in  the  hand  and  arm 
holding  the  pencil.  *'  Once  or  twice,"  says  Dr.  X.,  ''  I 
have  observed  something  like  cramp  seize  the  hand  and 
arm,  and  extend  along  the  shoulder  blade,  to  the  nape 
of  the  neck.  On  these  occasions,  I  saw  the  whole  arm 
vibrate  after  each  rap,  like  the  rebounding  of  an  elastic 
band,  and  I  have  sometimes  thought  it  looked  as  though 
the  *  fluid '  passed  down  the  nerves  of  the  arm  into  the 
pencil,  as  though  it  were  flowing  through  a  clear  open 
channel,  until  it  reached  the  point  of  the  pencil,  when 
a  jerk  of  some  kind  appeared  to  force  it  out  on  to  the 
wood  ;  not  that  the  pencil  or  arm  moves  when  the  rap 
resounds,  but  one  has  the  impression  of  an  interior  jerk 
of  some  kind  when,  in  moments  of  cramp,  the  rap  is 
heard  ;  this  rebounding  movement  appears  to  be  almost 
simultaneous  with  the  rap.  Though  the  medium  keeps 
his  personality  alive,  as  a  rule^  it  seems  to  me,"  continues 
Dr.  X.  (whose  opinion  is  shared  by  Professor  Richet), 
**  to  undergo  a  diminution  of  some  kind,  on  these  occa- 
sions ;  ideation  appears  to  be  slower  and  more  difficult. 
But,  because  his  arm  hurt  him  when  this  cramp  came 
on,  we  have  always  begged  him  to  cease  ;  therefore  we 
cannot  say  whether,  the  experiment  courageously  con- 
tinued, complete  anaesthesia  would  eventually  set  in, 
accompanied  by  psychical  phenomena." 

It  is  of  importance  to  point  out  that  both  Professor 
Richet  and  Dr.  X.  (though  Dr.  Maxwell  does  not 
altogether  share  their  opinion  on  this  point)  are  inclined 


278       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

to  believe  that  M.  Meurice  can  tell  when  raps  are  going 
to  be  given,  when  phenomena  will  be  forthcoming 
and  when  they  will  not  be  forthcoming  ;  a  conclusion 
which  is  drawn  from  many  observations. 

Some  of  the  messages  given  in  this  chapter  were 
obtained,  when  out  walking  with  the  medium.  On 
such  occasions,  M.  Meurice  would  put  his  hand  on  a 
walking-stick  or  on  an  umbrella ;  he  preferred  the 
latter.  "  The  raps  on  the  open  umbrella  are  extremely 
curious,*'  writes  Dr.  X.  '*  We  have  heard  raps  on  the 
woodwork  and  on  the  silk  at  one  and  the  same  time  ;  it 
is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  shock  actually  occurs  in  the 
wood — that  the  molecules  of  the  latter  are  set  in  motion. 
The  same  thing  occurs  with  the  silk  ;  and  here  observa- 
tion is  even  more  interesting  still ;  each  rap  looks  like  a 
drop  of  some  invisible  liquid  falling  on  the  silk  from  a 
respectable  height.  The  stretched  silk  of  the  umbrella 
is  quickly  and  slightly  but  surely  dented  in  ;  sometimes 
the  force  with  which  the  raps  are  given  is  such  as  to 
shake  the  umbrella.  Nothing  is  more  absorbing  than 
the  observation  of  an  apparent  conversation — by  means 
of  the  umbrella — between  the  medium's  personifications. 
Raps,  imitating  a  burst  of  laughter  in  response  to  the 
observer's  remarks,  resound  on  the  silk  like  the  rapid 
play  of  strong  but  tiny  fingers.  When  raps  on  the 
umbrella  are  forthcoming,  M.  Meurice  either  holds  the 
handle  of  the  umbrella,  or  some  one  else  does,  whilst  he 
simply  touches  the  handle  very  lightly  with  his  open 
palm.     He  never  touches  the  silk. 

*'Raps  without  contact  appear  to  require  more  force, 
and  are  not  so  frequently  forthcoming,  as  raps  with 
contact — which    seem   to    be   always   at   the    medium's 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     279 

command  ;  consequently — and  particularly  as  the  tenor 
of  the  messages  received  constituted  the  chief  interest 
for  the  time  being — the  use  of  the  pencil  or  umbrella 
has  been  encouraged." 

All  the  messages  given  in  this  chapter,  except  where 
the  contrary  is  expressly  stated,  have  been  received  by 
contact  with  a  pencil  or  umbrella — with  what  Chappe, 
the  chief  personification,  calls  his  telephone. 

A  marked  trait  in  the  phenomena  is  their  spontaneity. 
Months  will  pass  away  without  the  production  of  a 
single  phenomenon  worth  mentioning — raps  through  the 
pencil  can  generally  be  obtained,  however.  After  the 
attraction  of  the  fan  (pages  357-8),  nine  months 
elapsed  before  another  telekinetic  phenomenon  oc- 
curred. At  other  times,  the  energy  is  so  abundant  that 
while  it  lasts,  that  is  to  say  for  two  or  three  weeks, 
the  medium  may  truly  be  said  to  live  in  a  world 
of  phenomena  in  more  senses  than  one  ;  for,  at 
such  periods,  phenomena  are  constantly  forthcoming. 
Regular  seances  are  not  of  much  avail  with  M.  Meurice  ; 
it  is  better  not  to  seek,  but  to  know  how  to  receive, 
which  means  to  know  how  to  wait  patiently  and 
attentively. 

A  brief  analysis  of  the  personifications  is  necessary 
before  laying  bare  their  work.  The  first  to  manifest 
was  *  John  King.'  Subliminal  labour  is  very  transparent 
herein.  M.  Meurice  had  heard  not  a  little  of  Eusapia 
Paladino's  secondary  personality,  which  calls  itself  *  John 
King.' 

Then  the  raps  announced  the  presence  of  a  group  of 
four  entities  calling  themselves  the  *  fairies ' — les  bonnes 


28o       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

fees.  In  fact,  the  latter  were  the  first  to  make  their 
presence  felt  by  M.  Meurice,  though  John  King  was 
the  first  to  manipulate  the  raps.  The  fairies  gave  the 
names  of  Miriam,  Yolande,  Liliane,  and  Brigitte  ;  the 
latter  remained  but  a  short  time  ;  she  said  she  had  to 
go  away  somewhere  ;  she  was  replaced  by  *  Wicki,'  who 
claims  to  be  an  ancestor  of  Dr.  Maxwell's,  and  to  have 
lived  in  Ireland  during  the  fifteenth  century.  The 
medium  associates  the  odour  of  jasmine  with  the  fairies. 
Perhaps  the  following  may  suggest  a  clue  to  the  origin 
of  these  entities  : — 

Some  years  ago,  before  Dr.  Maxwell  had  commenced 
experimenting  with  his  friend,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
bidding  him  good-bye  with  the  words,  *  ^e  les  tres  bonnes 
vous  protegent'  When  the  fairies — les  bonnes  fees — 
appeared,  they  at  once  claimed  to  have  been  the  means 
of  bringing  about  the  meeting  of  Dr.  Maxwell  with 
M.  Meurice,  and  of  having  fostered  their  friendship. 
As  for  the  odour  of  jasmine  :  on  one  occasion,  soon 
after  experimentation  had  begun,  the  medium  was 
talking  to  the  doctor  about  good  influences  ;  and  he 
remarked  that  he  sometimes  perceived  the  odour  of 
jasmine  without  being  able  to  explain  it  normally.  The 
next  time  the  doctor  saw  his  friend,  the  raps  dictated 
that  the  odour  of  jasmine  was  the  signal  of  the  presence 
of  the  good  fairies. 

The  next  personification  to  manifest  was  said  to  be 
S.,  a  very  dear  friend  of  Dr.  MaxwelFs  (see  pages 
1 60-1).  The  genesis  of  this  personification  is  easy  to 
follow.  S.  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  Bordeaux, 
where  he  occupied  a  very  prominent  position  ;  he  was 
extremely  well   known — though    M.   Meurice  did    not 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     281 

know  him,  and  says  he  never  saw  him.  M.  Meurice 
witnessed  Dr.  Maxwell's  grief  when  S.  died,  and  heard 
the  former  say  that  he  had  been  very  fond  of  S.  I 
again  refer  the  reader  to  pages  160-1  for  further  con- 
sideration of  the  S.  personification. 

For  a  few  months,  the  phenomena  claimed  to  emanate 
chiefly  from  the  fairies — John  King  gradually  fading 
away.  Then  '  Chappe  d'Auteroche '  came  on  the  scene, 
and  has  ever  since  kept  the  field  pretty  much  to  himself, 
— though  he  permits  of  the  presence  of  the  personalities 
already  mentioned  and  a  few  others  if  introduced  by  him. 
His  first  appearance  took  the  form  of  a  vision  in  the 
crystal.  The  medium  saw  him  in  a  foreign  land,  amidst 
large  red  flowers,  savage  tribes  and  queer-looking  boats 
on  canals ;  he  gave  his  name,  the  exact  day,  month 
and  year  of  his  death,  and  the  cause  of  his  death  ;  he 
described  what  his  work  on  earth  had  been — all  things 
which  M.  Meurice  did  not  consciously  know.  Every- 
thing, which  was  verifiable,  was  found  to  be  correct. 

Some  time  after  this,  Chappe  gave  a  long  and 
coherent  message  by  means  of  tilts  of  a  table  without 
contact — in  daylight ;  on  this  occasion,  he  gave  his 
Christian  name  as  *  Adhemar,'  which  is,  probably,  an 
error,  as  biographies  do  not  mention  it. 

Chappe  is,  doubtless,  a  subliminal  entity ;  but  his 
evolution  is  more  difficult  to  explain  than  any  of  the 
medium's  other  personifications.  Perhaps  M.  Meurice 
— an  avide  reader — has  come  across  some  articles  in 
periodicals,  concerning  the  measurements  of  the  solar 
parallax,  by  means  of  the  crossing  of  the  sun's  surface 
by  the  disc  of  the  planet  Venus.  Chappe  was  one  of 
the  best-known  observers  ;  he  went  to  Siberia  in   1761, 


282        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

and  to  California  in  1769,  to  observe  those  passages. 
His  name  must  certainly  have  been  mentioned  in  the 
newspapers,  when  the  last  crossings  took  place — that  is 
in  1874  and  1882.  But  on  these  occasions,  M.  Meurice 
was  only  three  and  eleven  years  old  !  Has  he  seen  the 
biographical  notice  of  Chappe  in  Larousse's  dictionary  ? 
He  has  no  conscious  recollection  of  having  read  this,  nor 
does  he  remember  ever  having  heard  of  Chappe  the 
astronomer.  And  there,  •  for  the  present,  the  matter 
must  stand. 

Another  personification — H.  B. — made  its  irruption 
towards  the  end  of  1903.  M.  Meurice  was  certainly 
aware  of  Dr.  MaxwelFs  profound  esteem  and  affection 
for  H.  B. ;  but  for  further  consideration  of  this  personi- 
fication, we  refer  the  reader  to  Dr.  MaxwelFs  notes 
thereon,  pages  287  and  following. 

I  perceive  I  am  about  to  end  these  remarks  on  the 
medium  and  his  phenomena  without  having  said  a  word 
upon  a  vital  point,  one  which  many  specialists  would 
require  to  be  satisfactorily  settled  before  consenting  to 
listen  to  an  account  of  the  phenomena.  I  mean  the 
medium's  honesty.  Professor  Richet,  Dr.  Maxwell,  and 
Dr.  X.  say  that,  for  diverse  reasons,  they  cannot  doubt 
this  particular  medium's  honourability.  As  for  raps  and 
telekinetic  phenomena,  there  can  be  no  shadow  of  doubt 
about  their  genuineness ;  the  excellent  conditions  of  light, 
sight  and  touch  which  always  prevail  when  his  pheno- 
mena are  forthcoming,  joined  to  the  intelligent  co-opera- 
tion of  M.  Meurice,  who  is  as  much  interested  in  and 
capable  of  examining  his  own  phenomena  as  are  the 
observers,  put  mystification  out  of  the  question. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     283 

Is  there  any  evidence  of  identity,  of  survival,  of 
intelligent  forces  other  than  human,  in  this  chapter  ? 
Each  one  will  answer  this  question  after  his  own  manner 
of  thinking.  Some  will  say  '  No/  If  we  could  forget 
the  extraordinary  romance  at  the  end  of  this  chapter — 
Series  C — we  too  might  answer  categorically  '  No.' 
Though  we  have  given  all  the  leading  details  of  the  case, 
family  reasons  have  necessitated  the  omission  of  much 
valuable  material  in  this  *  romance,'  and  perhaps  readers 
will  not  see  so  much  in  it  as  those  who  watched  its 
development.  But  even  as  it  stands,  it  presents  some 
baffling  difficulties.  It  really  seems  to  indicate  that 
there  is  activity  in  the  metethereal  environment,  and 
that  the  spirit  can  act  in  that  environment.  What 
matter,  therefore,  if  it  be  the  spirit  of  the  living  or  of 
the  dead  ?  If  one  can  demonstrate  its  independence  of 
the  body,  why  not  the  other  ? 


SERIES  A 

VISIONS 

It  may  be  useful  to  give  one  or  two  of  our  medium's 
visions.  If  these  simple  phenomena — where  so  much  of 
the  personal  consciousness  seems  at  play — be  studied, 
some  idea  may  be  gained  of  how  far,  if  at  all,  the  sub- 
liminal is  responsible  for  the  production  of  this  particular 
medium's  more  intricate  phenomena,  such  as  intelligent 
messages  given  by  means  of  raps  without  contact. 

M.  Meurice  was  once  visiting  Paris.  He  dined  at 
my  house  on  the  evening  of  his  arrival.     This  was  the 


284       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

first  time  I  met  him.  During  dinner,  an  hour  or  so 
after  his  arrival,  the  medium  said  he  saw  a  vision  near 
me,  and  described  a  personage  '  dressed  in  white  and 
gold-embroidered  robes,  who  looks  like  a  priest  of 
ancient  times/  The  only  interest  in  this  is  that  it 
corroborates  what  two  other  sensitives,  unknown  to  our 
medium  and  to  each  other,  have  on  two  different 
occasions  told  me. 

M.  Meurice  also  claimed  to  recognise  in  me  and 
this  bedecked  personage,  two  persons  who  figured  in  a 
dream-vision  he  had  had,  three  years  previous  to  meeting 
me.  We  give  this  dream  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  its  rich 
symbolism. 

The  medium  wrote  an  account  of  the  dream  at  the 
time,  at  Dr.  Maxwell's  request,  the  latter  being  struck 
by  its  oddity.     Here  is  the  vision  : — 

"  I  dreamt  I  was  sleeping  in  a  bed,  the  framework 
of  which  nearly  touched  the  ground  ;  the  bed  was  raised 
on  a  kind  of  platform.  I  was  in  a  large  hall,  which 
looked  like  a  church.  Suddenly  a  tall,  fair  woman, 
dressed  in  black,  entered.  A  man  wearing  long,  white, 
ancient-looking  garments,  embroidered  all  over  in  gold, 
followed  her.  Then  Dr.  Maxwell  entered.  The  man  in 
white  read  aloud  out  of  the  book,  which  the  fair  woman 
held  open  before  him.  I  was  suddenly  overcome 
with  emotion.  I  wept,  and  wept,  and  wept.  My 
tears  caused  the  flowers  embroidered  on  the  counterpane 
to  spring  into  life ;  they  grew  and  multiplied  with 
amazing  rapidity,  completely  covering  the  bed  and, 
finally,  burying  me  beneath  their  abundance  and 
weight.  The  fair  woman  then  said :  *  We  must  seek 
for   him,'    and    set    to    work    to    remove    the   flowers. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     285 

During   this    operation,    Dr.    Maxwell   stepped    on  my 
body  ;  I  screamed  with  pain  and  awoke." 

When   M.   Meurice   awoke,  he   was   suffering    from 
colic  ;  this  fact  may  explain  parts  of  the  vision. 


One  day  in  December  1903,  at  the  close  of  a  seance 
when  some  fine  raps  at  a  distance  had  been  obtained, 
M.  Meurice  wrote  a  few  German  words.  He  does  not 
know  German.  At  the  same  time  he  saw,  in  the  crystal, 
the  words  :  '  Kolbe,  chimiste,  mort  a  Leipzig  1730.'  A 
few  hours  after  this  seance,  the  medium  had  a  vision  of 
the  personification  Chappe,  who  said,  '  Vous  ne  savez 
done  lire?  C'est  "mort  a  Leipzig  le  25  Novembre 
1884,"  etpas  "1730."' 

Kolbe  the  chemist  died  at  Leipzig  on  the  25th  of 
November  1884.  This  information  is  to  be  found  in 
Larousse's  dictionary.  . 

The  following  is  an  experiment  in  the  transmission  of 
thought  which  Dr.  Maxwell  tried  with  the  medium  : — 

"  I  gave  my  hand  to  M.  Meurice,  to  hold,  and  said  to 
him — we  had  been  talking,  in  a  vague,  general  manner 
of  the  plurality  of  existences — *  Try  and  see  how  I  died 
in  my  previous  existence.' 

*'  Unknown  to  the  medium,  I  wrote  down  on  paper  the 
words  : — Fall  from  a  horse  I 

**  M.  Meurice  answered  :  *  I  see  your  life,  then  you 
fade  away  into  nothingness  ;  you  die  from  an  accident ; 
a  carriage — no,  a  horse  accident.  I  see  you  wearing  a 
shield.  You  fall  from  your  horse,  he  crushes  you  to 
death.' " 


2«6       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

The  medium  very  often  sees  the  same  vision  repeat 
itself  in  the  crystal.  This  is  the  vision  of  a  procession 
of  individuals  clothed  in  flowing  robes  ;  they  follow  a 
long  narrow  path,  which  loses  itself  in  a  tunnel,  into 
which  the  procession  passes.  The  vision  never  varies, 
save  that  at  times  after  the  procession  has  disappeared 
into  the  tunnel,  the  path  seems  to  be  strewn  with  the 
bones  of  skeletons. 

This  vision  has  also  been  seen,  in  the  same  crystal, 
by  our  medium's  youngest  sister,  a  girl  of  twenty,  who 
is  absolutely  ignorant  of  spiritistic  phenomena.  She 
attributed  her  vision  to  an  optical  illusion. 

It  has  been  observed  with  M.  Meurice  that  the  last 
vision  sometimes  precedes  veridical  hallucinations. 

This  and  other  facts  would  lead  one  to  think  that 
very  probably,  for  a  medium,  there  is  no  test  which  can 
discriminate  between  falsidical  and  veridical  hallucina- 
tions. The  psychological  process  appears  to  be  the 
same,  viz.  dramatisation  and  concrete  images,  instead 
of  abstract  concepts  or  ideas. 

Mediums,  as  a  rule,  possess  parasitic  personalities 
which  act  in  the  same  way  as  the  normal  personality  ; 
this  feature  of  hallucinatory  phenomena  is  difficult  to 
analyse,  and  introduces  into  the  problem  a  number  of 
unknown  factors. 

In  the  case  of  the  medium  in  question,  the  secondary 
personalities  are  weak.  They  are  always  felt  and  objec- 
tived  by  the  normal  personality,  which  is  never  expelled 
from  the  scene — a  circumstance  which  is  precious  for  the 
observer  as  the  visions  are  sometimes  vivid  to  a  degree. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     287 

With  M.  Meurice  the  unknown  factors,  though  existing, 
are  reduced  to  a  sort  of  minimum,  and  the  psychological 
analysis  is  perhaps  less  difficult  than  in  the  generality  of 
cases.  In  this  fact  lies  the  value  of  his  intellectual 
phenomena,  though  it  is  a  drawback  indeed  from  another 
point  of  view,  the  persistency  of  the  normal  conscious- 
ness, of  the  normal  will,  and  even  of  the  normal  powers 
of  attention,  being  probably  the  cause  of  the  impurities 
which  so  frequently  stain  his  intellectual  phenomena. 


NOTES    ON    THE    PERSONIFICATION    *  H.   B.' 

By  Dr.  Maxwell 

''  H.  B.  died  at  a  very  advanced  age.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  kindness  of  heart,  and  of  deep  intelligence.  He 
had  received  a  solid,  classical  education.  He  was  born 
in  a  foreign  country,  went,  when  a  young  man,  to  a 
North  American  state,  where  he  lived  for  some  time. 
He  married,  and  finally  came  to  Bordeaux — a  town  to 
which  his  wife  and  all  her  family  belonged.  H.  B.  lived 
for  many  years  at  Bordeaux  ;  but  during  the  last  six 
years  of  his  life  he  was  paralysed.  He  died  at  a  time 
when  the  medium  was  twenty  years  of  age,  and  was 
pursuing  his  studies  in  a  hospital  at  Bordeaux.  H.  B. 
lived  a  very  retired  life,  confined  to  the  house  because  of 
his  infirmity. 

''There  is  every  probability  that  M.  Meurice  had 
never  heard  of  H.  B.  Although  I  had  known  my  friend 
for  some  time  before  the  irruption  of  this  personification, 
I  had  been  extremely  careful  to  avoid  giving  him  the 
slightest  detail  concerning   H.  B.      He  had,  however, 


288       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

heard  me  say  that  H.  B.  had  been  one  of  my  dearest 
friends. 

**  I  had  been  experimenting  for  about  two  years 
with  M.  Meurice,  when  the  personification  H.  B. 
first  manifested.  His  emergence  took  place  on  the 
2nd  October  1903,  in  the  form  of  a  vision,  which  my 
friend  had  as  he  was  going  to  bed.  On  the  following 
day — during  a  dark  seance  we  were  holding  in  the  hopes . 
of  obtaining  luminous  phenomena — M.  Meurice  described 
his  vision  of  the  previous  night.  His  description  vividly 
recalled  H.  B.  to  my  mind.  I  was  careful  to  say  nothing, 
however.  During  the  seance,  the  personification  Chappe 
signified  his  presence  by  means  of  abundant  and  loud 
raps  ;  at  the  same  time  M.  Meurice  told  me  he  saw  a 
face,  and  certain  letters  written  above  it ;  these  letters 
formed  a  name,  which  indicated  to  me  the  presence  of 
H.  B.  Thereupon  I  asked  M.  Meurice  to  give  me  the 
Christian  and  surnames  of  the  vision  he  claimed  to  be 
looking  at ;  in  reply,  the  surname  was  instantly  spelt  out 
by  raps  without  contact ;  the  Christian  name  was  given 
in  French  first  of  all,  then  it  was  correctly  given  in 
H.  B.'s  maternal  tongue.^ 

"  H.  B.'s  first  appearances  occurred  in  M.  Meurice's 
bedroom.  From  the  indications  given,  I  said  I  had 
quickly   recognised  H.  B,      Unfortunately,   under   the 

^  H.  B/s  Christian  name  finds  its  equivalent  in  French  in  the  name  which 
had  been  *  rapped  out  "■  in  the  first  instance.  Dr.  Maxwell  explained  this  fact 
to  the  rapping  force,  whereupon  the  name  was  correctly  given. 

This  detail  of  the  Christian  and  surnames  is  not  demonstrative  as  identity, 
because  (i)  the  remarks  made  by  Dr.  Maxwell  were  sufficient  to  have  'fixed ' 
any  one  who  had  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  language  in  question  j  (2) 
because  the  medium  already  knew  the  surname  of  Dr.  Maxwell's  friend.  We 
must  not  forget,  however,  that  the  raps  were  given  without  contact. — Note  by 
the  'Translator, 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     289 

necessity  in  which  1  find  myself  placed  of  not  bringing 
H.  B.'s  family  into  view,  I  am  unable  to  mention  the 
principal  details.  May  it  suffice  to  say  that  I  recognised 
H.  B.  I  may  also  add  that  the  description  of  the 
hair,  eyes,  beard,  stature  were  exactly  and  unhesitatingly 
given. 

"I  may  also  mention  one  important  detail :  M.  Meurice 
described  the  vision  he  saw  as  being  seated  in  an  arm- 
chair with  a  blue  plaid  shawl — with  a  long  fringe — 
wrapped  about  his  legs.  I  did  not  recognise  the  chair — 
though  I  well  remember  the  chair  in  which  H.  B.  passed 
the  last  six  years  of  his  life — but  the  shawl  was  absolutely 
correctly  described.  This  is  a  detail  which,  I  affirm, 
M.  Meurice  could  not  possibly  have  known ;  and  I 
consider  it  highly  improbable  that  fraud  could  have 
found  it  out. 

'*  So  much  for  the  first  appearance  of  this  personifica- 
tion. 

''The  visions  continued.  M.  Meurice  saw  H.  B.  at 
different  periods  of  his  existence,  at  times  infirm,  at 
other  times  younger  and  standing  upright.  When  he 
appeared  young,  he  wore  his  beard  in  a  certain  fashion  ; 
when  he  appeared  aged,  he  wore  his  beard  differently ; 
these  details  were  correct. 

"  The  vision  at  first  did  not  speak,  and  simply  looked 
kindly  at  him,  said  M.  Meurice. 

"  The  hallucination  used  to  build  itself  up  in  the  follow- 
ing manner :  the  medium  saw  a  bluish  cloud  floating 
about  near  a  particular  armchair  in  his  bedroom;  the 
cloud  or  shadow  remained  ill  defined,  '  as  though  several 
veils  were  being  successively  removed ' ;  and  only  one 
feature  at  a  time — at  a  vision — seemed  to  be  distinctly 

T 


290       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

shown,  e.g.  at  one  time,  the  eyes  were  well  shown,  the 
rest  of  the  vision  being  very  indistinct ;  at  another  time, 
the  nose  was  the  prominent  feature,  or  the  mouth,  the 
hair  or  the  beard,  etc.  ;  as  though  the  personification 
wished  to  impress  one  thing  at  a  time  upon  the  medium's 
perception. 

"Finally  on  the  6th  October  1903,  in  a  short  journey 
which  M.  Meurice  made  one  day  to  Arcachon,  H.  B. 
appeared  to  him  in  broad  daylight,  in  an  avenue  of  the 
forest  through  which  the  medium  was  driving. 

"  M.  Meurice  saw,  on  the  roadway  a  short  distance 
ahead,  a  person  walking  very  slowly  and  peculiarly  :  *  he 
limped  as  though  the  right  leg  was  shorter  than  the  left.' 
He  was  a  stout  man  with  a  round,  clean-shaven  face. 
He  had  a  peculiar  mark  near  one  of  his  eyes.  He  was 
wearing  a  tall  straw  hat,  a  high  collar,  the  ends  rising  and 
meeting  in  points  under  the  chin,  a  yellowish  walking- 
stick,  the  handle  of  which  was  made  of  ivory  and  fastened 
to  the  stick  by  a  silver  band  ;  the  personage  was  reading 
a  newspaper,  the  title  of  which  was  in  Gothic  lettering 
*like  the  Matin.'  He  was  wearing  a  thick  gold  chain 
and  trinkets.  M.  Meurice  thought  he  was  looking 
upon  a  real  individual,  and  it  was  not  until  the  carriage 
had  driven  past,  and  my  friend  saw  the  supposed  man 
suddenly  disappear,  leaving  but  a  *  whitish  blur  on  the 
ground,'  that  he  recognised  H.  B.  and  the  hallucinatory 
character  of  his  perception. 

^'  I  saw  M.  Meurice  about  five  hours  after  he  had  had 
this  vision,  when  he  gave  me  the  above  details ;  I  recog- 
nised the  following  as  being  correct : — 

"  I.  The  walk. 

"2.  A  peculiar  mark  near  one  of  the  eyes. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     291 

^*  3.  The  newspaper;  H.  B.  took  in  the  'Temps ^  the  title 
of  which  is  in  Gothic  lettering  like  the  Matin. 

*'  4.  The  walking-stick,  every  detail  being  exact. 

*'  5.  The  description  of  the  collar  was  correct. 

"6.  H.  B.  used  to  wear  a  straw  hat. 

"7.  'A  stout  man  with  a  round,  clean-shaven  face' 
applies  to  H.  B.  before  his  infirmity  made  an  invalid  of 
him. 

*^  The  watch-chain  and  trinkets  were  imaginary. 

"  A  few  remarks  about  details  i  and  2  :  H.  B.  had  twice 
broken  his  right  leg ;  the  right  leg  was,  as  a  result  of 
these  two  accidents,  shorter  than  the  left  leg.  He  had 
therefore  a  very  peculiar  and  characteristic  walk.  When 
M.  Meurice  was  relating  the  above  vision  to  me,  he 
imitated  the  walk  to  perfection.  Let  it  be  remembered 
that  H.  B.  had  not  walked  a  step  for  six  years  previous 
to  his  death  ;  when  he  was  attacked  by  paralysis, 
M.  Meurice  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  was  not 
then  living  in  Bordeaux. 

'^2.  H.  B.  had  a  small  and  peculiar  skin  mark 
near  his  left  eye.  Now,  when  M.  Meurice  related  his 
vision,  I  told  him  that  he  had  not  localised  this  mark 
accurately  enough.  Thereupon,  raps  resounded  simul- 
taneously on  his  chair,  on  the  floor,  and  on  a  table 
standing  a  foot  away  from  M.  Meurice  and  myself; 
while  these  raps  were  resounding  M.  Meurice  said  he 
saw  H.  B.,  and  remarked  that  he  was  pointing  to  the 
sign  in  question.  M.  Meurice  then  correctly  localised 
the  mark. 

"  Further,  I  told  M.  Meurice  that  he  had  made  a  mis- 
take when  speaking  of  a  gold  watch-chain  and  trinkets. 
The    next  vision    my  friend  had  of   H.  B.,  the  latter 


292        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

showed  himself  with  a  black  silk  ribbon  attached  to  his 
watch  ;  this,  I  recognised  as  correct.  H.  B.  always  wore 
a  black  silk  ribbon  for  a  watch-chain/ 

"  In  subsequent  visions,  H.  B.  showed  the  medium 
successively  certain  correct  details  in  his  costume, 
notably  : — 

''  1.  Cravats,  dark  blue  with  white  spots. 

"  2.  Shoes  of  a  peculiar  make,  without  heels  and  with 
elastic  sides. 

''3.  White  stockings. 

"  M.  Meurice  tells  me  he  feels  that  H.  B.  very  often 
tries  to  make  himself  visible  to  him  ;  when  he  fails  to  do 
so,  he  hears  him  say  impatiently  :  *  Thut !  thut !  thut ! ' 
— a  curious  coincidence,  for  this  was  a  most  characteristic 
habit  of  H.  B.'s  when  impatient. 

"  From  that  time  the  personification  H.  B.  has  con- 
tinued to  mingle  actively  in  our  medium's  life.  His 
intervention  is  manifested  daily.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  give  a  full  account  of  this  personification's  manifesta- 
tions ;  I  will  simply  confine  myself  to  indicating  the 
principal.  It  is  to  be  pointed  out,  first  of  all,  that 
H.  B.  appears  literally  to  'haunt'  M.  Meurice's  house, 
especially  the  room  above  the  latter's  bedroom." 

"  The  phenomena  are  of  several  kinds  : — 

"  A,  Sonorous  phenomena. 


1  M.  Meurice  was  aware  of  the  fact  that  H.  B.  had  bequeathed  many 
things  to  Dr.  Maxwell.  He  knew,  for  example,  that  the  latter  wears  a  watch 
which  was  given  him  by  H.  B.  And  as  Dr.  Maxwell  also  wears,  attached 
to  his  watch,  a  gold  chain  and  trinkets,  normal  mental  activity  might  here 
have  been  at  work. — Note  by  the  Translator. 

2  M.  Meurice's  house  bore  the  reputation  of  being  haunted  before  he  took 
it.  He  was  unaware  of  this,  until  the  neighbours  told  him  of  it  some  months 
after  he  was  settled  in  the  house. — Note  by  the  Translator. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     293 

''  I.  Footsteps. 

"  (a)  A  loud,  quick,  decided  footstep,  which  M. 
Meurice    attributes    to    the    personification 
Chappe. 
"  (^)  An  unequal  step,  as  though  one  leg  rested 
more  heavily  than  the  other  ;  the   imitation 
which  M.  Meurice  made  before  me  of  this 
step  recalled  to  my  mind  H.  B.'s  step. 
''  (c)  A  slow  step  as  of  a  person  who  dragged  his 
feet  along  :    a   movement  attributed  by  M. 
Meurice  to,  and  which  I  recognised  as  charac- 
teristic of,  one  of  my  deceased  friends.-^ 
"  (jd)  A  quick,  light  step,  like  the  step  of  a  big  bird. 
"  These    footsteps    are    heard    in    the    corridor    of 
the  second   story   of  the  house  ;   a  story  which   is  not 
inhabited.     Then  the  door  of  a  bedroom,  immediately 
above  M.  Meurice's   bedroom,  seems  to  open  and  the 
footsteps  resound  in  the  room.     M.  Meurice  has  often 
got  up — these  noises  occur  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
early  morning — but  he  has  never  seen  anything  or  any 
one. 

"  The  same  noises  are  also  heard  in  M.  Meur ice's  own 
bedroom. 

"  2.  The  opening  of  doors  and  windows. 
*'  Before  hearing  footsteps  in  the  bedroom  on  the  second 
floor,  M.  Meurice  hears  the  door  of  that  room  open. 
The  noise  of  the  opening  of  the  door  is  always  preceded 
by  a  noise  similar  to  that  made  by  a  hand  searching  in 
the  dark  for  the  door  handle. 

"  M.  Meurice  hears  the  same  sounds  on  his  bedroom 
door.     There  are  three  doors  to  M.  Meurice's  bedroom : 

1  See  page  i6o. 


294       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

one  leads  into  a  dressing-room,  one  into  a  clothes-room, 
the  third  into  a  study  ;  it  is  at  this  third  door  that 
the  above-mentioned  phenomena  occur. 

"  Sometimes  M.  Meurice  hears  the  window  of  his 
own  bedroom,  as  well  as  that  of  the  room  upstairs, 
open  and  shut.  He  has  got  up  repeatedly,  and  gone 
upstairs  to  see  what  was  happening,  but  has  always  found 
the  door  closed,  which  he  fancied  he  had  heard  being 
opened.  Whenever,  on  returning  to  his  bedroom,  he 
left  the  door  of  the  room  upstairs  open,  the  noise  of 
footsteps  would  begin  again  as  soon  as  he  had  left,  but 
without  the  sound  of  the  opening  and  shutting  of  the 
bedroom  door. 

"  3.  Noises  as  of  furniture  being  moved  about.  The 
medium  hears  the  chairs  and  tables  of  the  room  above 
him  move  about ;  his  faculties  of  observation  are  well 
developed,  and  he  believes  he  recognises  : — 

'*  {a)  Accompanying  the  noise  of  the  displacement  of 

chairs  and  tables,  Chappe*s  footstep. 
"  (J?)  H.  B.'s  footsteps,  on  the  contrary,  are  accom- 
panied by  the  noise  a   heavy  person   might 
make  when  sitting  on  a  bed.     The  medium 
hears  the  mattress  creaking. 
"  {c)  Lastly,  he  hears  a  noise  similar  to  what  would 
be  produced   by  a  person  lying  back  in  an 
armchair. 
''  4.  Noises  of  material  objects  other  than  furniture  : 
these  noises  are  like : — 

'^  {a)  A  bag  of  corn  or  nuts  emptied  on  to  the  floor 

of  the  bedroom  upstairs. 
*'  {b)  Something  hard  striking  the  floor  :  these  sounds 
are  given  rhythmically  upon  request. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     295 

"  (c)  Wings  beating  the  air.     M.  Meurice  compares 
these  sounds  to  the  flapping  of  the  wings  of 
a  turkey. 
**  (<^)  The  rubbing  of  paper. 

"  5.  Diverse  human  noises : — 
''(a)  Sighs. 
"  (^)  Heavy  breathing. 

"Are  these  sonorous  phenomena  subjective  ?  I  have 
never  been  in  the  house  at  the  hour,  when  these 
sounds  are  said  to  be  heard;  and  the  noises  I  have 
heard  from  time  to  time  are  not  sufficiently  pronounced 
for  me  to  be  able  to  form  any  conclusion.  I  have  assured 
myself  that  no  water-pipes  exist  in  the  upper  stories  of 
the  house  ;  the  latter  is  isolated,  but  any  loud  noises 
made  in  a  neighbouring  house  can  be  heard  in  M. 
Meurice's  house. 

"  No  one  sleeps  in  the  second  story.  A  domestic,  who 
occupies  a  room  on  the  same  floor  as  M.  Meurice,  has 
heard  the  noise  of  footsteps,  and  has  often  got  up  out 
of  bed  and  gone  upstairs  to  see  who  was  moving  about. 
Never  finding  any  one,  the  domestic  attributes  these 
sounds  to  rats  :  an  insufficient  explanation.  Moreover, 
a  close  examination  of  the  house,  repeated  on  several 
occasions,  has  revealed  to  me  no  signs  of  rats. 

*' A  sister  of  M.  Meurice's  frequently  pays  him  visits; 
she  then  occupies  a  room  on  the  same  floor  as  her  brother. 
On  three  different  occasions  she  has  been  awakened  out 
of  sleep  by  sounds  of  footsteps,  and  a  fumbling  noise  on 
the  door  of  her  room,  as  though  some  one  were  feeling 
for  the  handle.  She  has  got  up,  gone  into  her  brother's 
room,  thinking  it  was  he,  searched  about  the  house,  but 
has  never  seen  anything  which  could  explain  the  noises, 


296       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

neither  has    she   heard    the   noises   while    thus   moving 
about.  ^ 

*  Among  Dr.  Maxwell's  notes  is  the  following  account,  written  to  Professor 
Richet,  of  a  seance  at  which  the  doctor  was  present  j  and  of  some  subsequent 
phenomena  which  he  did  not  witness,  but  which  the  reader  may  consider 
interesting,  nevertheless : — 

19th  March  1904. — 'Yesterday  afternoon  I  obtained  some  automatic 
writing  with  our  medium.  Chappe  and  H.  B.  were  said  to  be  communi- 
cating, and  giving  me  their  views  about  the  war.  We  then  used  the  com- 
modious Chappe  telephone — my  stylograph  on  this  occasion.  The  raps 
were  excellent.  The  weather  was  good,  fairly  cold,  but  dry.  When  the 
last  word  of  a  message  was  being  spelt  out,  Meurice  suddenly  threw  away 
the  pen  and  broke  up  the  seance,  without  going  through  the  usual  formalities 
of  good-bye.  He  rose  up  from  his  seat,  complained  of  feeling  dizzy,  and 
fainted.  He  quickly  came  to,  however,  and  when  I  left  him  he  appeared  quite 
well  again.  But  soon  after  I  had  left  the  house,  he  went  into  his  sister's  room, 
and  again  fainted. 

*Now,  I  had  often  told  him  not  to  break  off  the  communications  so 
abruptly.  I  think  the  fatigue  he  sometimes  experiences  after  phenomena — 
fatigue  often  out  of  all  proportion  with  them — is  due  to  his  brusquerie.  On 
this  occasion  I  am  sure  there  was  some  link  between  him  and  the  table  on 
which  the  rapping  occurred.  Unfortunately,  friendship  mastered  science,  and 
I  rose  up  instantly  to  look  after  my  friend,  without  stopping  to  ascertain 
if  there  were  any  trace  of  exteriorised  sensibility  in  the  table.  It  is  very  pro- 
bable that  such  was  the  case,  because  I  repeatedly  assured  myself,  during  the 
course  of  the  seance,  that  there  was  absolutely  no  sensibility  whatever  in  the 
hand  which  was  holding  the  stylograph — the  rapping  implement. 

'During  the  seance  Chappe  had  dictated  that  his  medium  was  going  to 
give  "displacements  of  objects,"  and  he  bade  him  take  heed  thereof. 
M.  Meurice's  house  is,  this  week,  filled  with  visitors — his  sister  and  her 
children  among  others.  For  want  of  room,  he  has  taken  his  young  nephew, 
a  child  of  seven  years  old,  into  his  room  to  sleep  with  him.  Now,  last  night 
he  was  awakened  towards  midnight  by  his  bed  moving  about.  His  sister, 
sleeping  in  the  next  room,  also  heard  these  noises  j  thinking  her  brother 
was  ill,  she  got  up  and  went  into  his  room.  She  saw  a  curious  sight:  the 
bed  was  gliding,  of  its  own  accord,  towards  the  window  !  She  sat  down  on 
a  sofa  and  watched  ,•  the  room  was  lighted  up  by  the  light  of  one  candle. 
The  bed  moved  up  to  a  table  near  the  window,  i.e.  a  distance  of  three  feet  5 
the  carpet  was  not  disturbed.  The  bed  returned  slowly  to  its  former  position. 
The  child  did  not  awaken.  The  sister  is  not  aware  of  her  brother's  powers ; 
if  she  were  told,  she  would  probably  be  much  distressed,  as  she  puts  all  such 
phenomena  a  priori  down  to  charlatanry  or  to  superstition.     She  was  alarmed 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     297 

'*  She  has  also  heard  the  flapping  of  birds'  wings,  in 
the  daytime,  in  different  parts  of  the  house. 

*'-5.  Phenomena  of  touch. 

*'  M.  Meurice  sometimes  feels  a  hand  gently  stroke 
him  on  the  head.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  suffering 
from  a  violent  headache,  he  felt  a  hand  move  about  on 
his  head  and  forehead  ;  the  pain  went  away,  and  he  fell 
asleep. 

*'  C.  Visual  phenomena. 

'*  Sonorous  and  tactile  phenomena  nearly  always  precede 
an  apparition,  which  is  generally  that  of  H.  B.,  either 
alone  or  with  the  Chappe  personification. 

"  The  following  are  a  few  examples  of  the  visions 
relating  to  H.  B. : — 

"I.  On  the  31st  October  1903  M.  Meurice  returned 
home  from  a  visit  to  the  neighbouring  village — 
Arcachon,  the  same  village,  near  which  H.  B.  had  ap- 
peared to  him  (p.  290).  When  he  entered  his  bedroom, 
he  perceived  H.  B.  seated  in  a  chair,  holding  on  his  arm 
a  mortuary  wreath  made  of  black  beads. 

"  On  the  morrow — All  Souls'  Day — M.  Meurice  related 
this  vision  to  me.  I  was  surprised — but  concealed  my 
surprise ;  for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  did  not  understand 
what  a  wreath  of  black  beads  could  mean.  At  certain 
epochs  I  am  in  the  habit  of  laying  a  wreath  on  H.  B.'s 
tomb,  but  it  is  always  composed  of  what  were  his 
favourite  flowers.  M.  Meurice  began  to  write  auto- 
matically ;   he  wrote  :  *  Bring  me  what  you  are  in  the 

at  the  manifestation,  ascribed  the  movements  to  "  ghosts,"  and  firmly  believes 
that  the  house  is  haunted.'  (This  sister  does  not  live  in  Bordeaux,  and  has 
never  been  told  of  the  reputation  the  house  enjoyed  before  her  brother  took 
possession  of  it.) 


298       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

habit  of  bringing  me  ;  the  other  wreath  was  for  T. 
Bring  him  one  too,  for  his  family  have  almost  forgotten 
him.'  (I  understood  T.  to  be  the  initial  letter  of  a  great 
friend  of  H.  B/s.)  My  surprise  did  not  diminish, 
because  I  know  for  a  fact  that  T/s  family  cherish  his 
memory  profoundly. 

"However,  following  my  usual  custom,  I  treated  the 
personification  H.  B.  as  he  desired  to  be  treated  and 
executed  his  commission.  I  then  made  the  following 
discovery :  T.  is  buried  in  a  vault  over  which  lies 
a  sort  of  platform.  The  vault  belongs  to  his  own 
family  and  the  family  of  a  near  relation.  There  were 
fresh  flowers  on  the  side  of  the  vault  belonging  to  his 
relations ;  there  were  none  on  the  side  reserved  for  his 
family. 

*'  I  believe  this  circumstance,  as  well  as  the  friendship 
which  existed  between  H.  B.  and  T.,  was  unknown  to 
M.  Meurice ;  but  I  am  obliged  to  admit  that  my  belief 
rests  upon  no  proof. 

"  Let  me  add,  in  order  to  finish  at  once  with  the  T. 
incident,  that,  on  the  eve  of  my  visit  to  T.'s  tomb,  I 
had  asked  M.  Meurice  to  give  me  the  Christian  and 
surnames  of  the  person  about  whom  H.  B.  was  supposed 
to  be  talking.  The  surname  was  given  ;  a  curious 
mistake  was  made  before  the  Christian  name  was  correctly 
given  :  the  name  of  T.'s  son  was  given,  and  then  came 
T.'s  own  name.  These  indications  were  obtained  in 
broad  daylight,  by  means  of  raps  without  direct  contact. 
The  raps  resounded  upon  a  table  on  which  I  had  placed 
a  shawl,  one  corner  of  which  was  held  by  M.  Meurice. 

"2.  A  few  days  afterwards  a  seance  was  held  in  M. 
Meurice' s  bedroom.     A  portable  cabinet  had  been  used, 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     299 

which  M.  Meurice  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  remove 
before  going  to  bed.  During  the  night  he  was  awakened 
by  taps  on  the  head ;  he  heard  diverse  noises,  and  saw 
the  door  of  the  cabinet  open.  H.  B.  appeared,  lean- 
ing on  two  of  the  '  fairies ' ;  the  two  other  '  fairies ' 
followed.  These  personages  presented  the  appearance 
of  living  people,  said  M.  Meurice  the  next  day  when 
describing  the  vision  to  me.  They  rolled  an  armchair 
into  the  middle  of  the  room  ;  H.  B.  sat  down  in  it ; 
thQ  fairies  placed  a  shawl  over  his  knees,  and  two  of  them 
sat  down  on  the  arms  of  his  chair  ;  the  other  two  sat 
down  on  chairs.  H.  B.  spoke  about  my  health,  and 
then  bade  M.  Meurice  tell  me  that  I  would  be  able 
to  find  all  necessary  documents  on  the  history  of 
religions  in  my  cousin  Y.'s  library.  The  Christian 
names  were  correctly  given,  the  surname  approximately ; 
but  the  approximation  was  such  (the  initial  letter  of  the 
name  being  the  only  incorrect  one)  that  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  recognising  the  name. 

"  It  is  exact  that  my  cousin  Y.  possesses  documents  on 
the  history  of  religions.  M.  Meurice  knew  that  the 
question  interested  me  ;  but  it  is  extremely  improbable, 
that  he  should  have  known  of  the  existence  of  my  cousin 
Y.,  who  lives  in  the  strictest  seclusion ;  it  is  still  more 
improbable,  that  he  should  have  known  the  contents  of 
his  library.  I  cannot,  however,  affirm  these  two  points, 
but  I  can  at  least  affirm  that  M.  Meurice  does  not  know 
my  cousin  Y. 

"  The  personification  H.  B.  shows  a  spirit  of  fatherly 
protection  towards  M.  Meurice  ;  for  example  : — 

''  The  medium  was  once  out  driving  ;  a  rather  serious 
accident   happened,   in   which    his   carriage   was  caught 


300       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

between  a  cart  and  a  tram  ;  the  coachman  was  thrown 
from  his  seat  and  wounded.  As  the  tram  struck  the 
carriage,  M.  Meurice  felt  himself  seized  by  the  arms, 
and  carried  out  of  the  carriage  on  to  the  footpath  by 
H.  B.^ 

"The  air  of  protection  which  this  personification 
assumes  is  never  absent ;  it  is  difficult,  M.  Meurice  says, 
to  convey  an  idea  of  the   strange,  fantastic  impression 

1  The  reader  may  care  to  see  Dr.  Maxwell's  detailed  report  to  Professor 
Richet  of  the  above  incident : — 

*On  Sunday  morning  Meurice  was  out  driving.  A  short  distance  from 
Bordeaux  his  carriage  collided  with  a  milk-cart  j  the  shafts  of  the  latter 
crashed  through  one  of  the  carriage  windows.  At  the  same  time  an  electric 
tram,  unable  to  pull  up  in  time,  struck  the  carriage  in  the  rear.  The  coach- 
man was  thrown  from  his  seat  on  to  the  ground,  where  he  lay  unconscious. 
He  was  wounded  near  the  left  eye,  .  .  .  his  face  was  covered  with  blood. 

*  At  the  moment  the  collision  with  the  tram  took  place,  Meurice  quickly 
opened  the  carriage  door  with  the  natural  intention  of  jumping  out ;  but  he 
felt  himself  suddenly  lifted  up  and  carried  on  to  the  footpath,  a  distance  of  ten 
feet.     He  saw  no  one. 

'  He  probably  jumped  of  his  own  accord,  and  the  sensation  he  experienced 
was  but  the  symbolical  expression  of  the  solicitude  the  personifications  show 
for  him.     The  protector  was  supposed  to  be  H.  B. 

*Now,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  the  eve  of  the  day  on  which  the  above 
accident  occurred,  I  had  a  seance  with  my  friend.  We  tried  for  luminous 
phenomena,  but  the  experiment  was  null.  Towards  the  close  of  the  seance, 
Meurice  said  he  saw  the  face  of  a  dead  man,  with  a  wound  on  the  left 
temple,  the  face  was  covered  with  blood.  I  asked  who  it  was,  and  received 
by  raps  without  contact :  "  Suicide,  victime  d'amour,  Gaston "  j  the  raps 
refused  to  give  the  surname.  The  aspect  of  the  coachman's  face  after  the 
accident  the  next  morning  somewhat  recalls  the  aspect  of  the  vision  j  if  we 
accept  this,  there  is  a  curious  mixture  of  true  and  false,  the  false  showing 
forth  when  our  personal  activity  intervenes  in  order  to  question  :  a  fact  which 
I  have  often  observed. 

'  The  accident  occurred  between  ten  and  a  quarter  past  ten  o'clock.  My 
friend's  youngest  sister — a  young  girl  of  twenty — is  paying  him  a  visit  this 
week.  Now,  this  Sunday  morning  she  went  into  the  kitchen  at  ten  o'clock, 
looking  very  distressed,  and  said  to  the  servants  that  she  felt  sure  an  accident 
had  happened  to  her  brother.  The  sister's  and  servants'  versions  concorded 
absolutely  when  questioned  a  few  hours  later  on  this  coincidence.' 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     301 

which  he  feels,  in  presence  of  the  frequent  intervention 
of  H.  B.,  and  other  personifications. 

"  This  impression  is  the  less  easily  understood,  in  so 
much  as  M.  Meurice  is  not  a  spiritualist,  and  has  received 
a  scientific  education.  He  refuses  to  accept  the  explana- 
tions which  the  personifications  offer  of  themselves  :  they 
claim  to  be  human  beings  who  have  once  lived  on  earth. 
Up  to  the  present  they  have  never  pretended  to  give  us 
any  information  touching  the  life  beyond  the  tomb  ;  the 
indications  they  have  given  rather  tend  to  direct  our 
experiments,  and  to  try  to  formulate  premonitions. 
H.  B.  seems  to  have  given  himself  the  task,  chiefly, 
of  establishing  his  identity  ;  this  desire  appears  to  be 
his  leading — I  scarcely  dare  to  say  generating — idea. 
And  we  are  obliged  to  admit  that  from  this  point  of 
view  he  has  given  some  curious  details.  These  facts  con- 
stitute the  intellectual  phenomena,  which  are  the  dominant 
ones  in  the  H.  B.  personification,  although  raps  and 
movements  without  contact  are  also  said  to  emanate  from 
him  sometimes. 

*'  I  have  given  some  examples  of  psycho-sensorial 
messages  in  the  visions  which  I  have  described.  These 
are  far  from  being  the  most  interesting.  H.  B. 
manifests  also  by  automatic  writing,  and  has  given  some 
messages  of  a  highly  interesting  character  in  this  manner. 
I  cite  the  following  as  being  the  most  characteristic  : — 

**  On  the  27th  of  November  1903,  towards  the  close  of 
a  seance,  I  mentally  asked  H.  B.  where  I  happened  to  be, 
when  he  was  laid  up  with  a  certain  serious  illness.  The 
medium  wrote  :  *  You  were  a  young  magistrate  at  Blaye, 
near  Bordeaux.'  M.  Meurice  knows  what  my  career 
has  been,  but  it  is  extremely  improbable,  he  should  have 


302        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

known  about  the  illness — much  less  the  time  of  the 
illness — of  which  I  was  thinking.  At  all  events,  the 
reply  given  to  my  mental  question  was  correct.  Neither 
the  conversation  nor  previous  facts  could  have  given 
the  slightest  clue  to  my  question.  On  another  occasion, 
automatic  writing  made  an  extremely  characteristic . 
allusion  to  one  of  H.  B.'s  most  inveterate  habits  :  a  glass 
of  brandy  and  water  every  afternoon  at  half-past  five, 
punctually.-^ 

"  Finally,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  last 
surviving  member  of  his  family,  H.  B.  on  the  5th  of 
October  1904  wrote:  *  Poor  L.,  no  one  is  left  now. 
It  is  a  consolation  for  you  to  feel  me  near  you.  .  .  .  Very 
often  those  left  behind  cannot  see  us.'  {Pauvre  Z.,  il  ne 
reste  plus  personne  maintenant^  cest  une  consolation  pour 
vous  de  me  sentir  pres  de  vous.  Souvent  les  survivants  ne 
peuvent pas  nous  voir,) 

''  This  message  was  interesting  because  the  last  relative 
to  die  was  not  L.  but  C.     L.  died  before  C. ;  but  L.  had 
been  H.  B.'s  favourite  brother.     It  is  quite  correct  that   ' 
no  one  was  left  of  H.  B.'s  generation  after  C.'s  death.^ 

"  At  this  same  seance,  H.  B.  mentioned  a  very  private 

1  The  following  is  Dr.  Maxwell's  detailed  report  of  this  incident  as  con- 
tained in  a  letter  to  Professor  Richet : — 

* .  .  .  There  was  nothing  we  might  say  but  twaddle  in  the  writing  which 
followed,  e.g.  expressions  of  pleasure  on  the  part  of  H.  B.  in  that  he  was  able 
to  communicate  with  me,  his  long  efforts  to  reach  me,  etc.,  when  suddenly,  at 
5.30,  without  any  rhyme  or  reason,  so  to  say,  our  medium  wrote  (always 
under  the  influence  of  the  H.  B.  personification)  :  "  Offer  me  some  brandy 
and  water.  .  .  ."  Now,  during  fifty  years  H.  B.  had  not  been  known  to  miss 
taking  a  glass  of  brandy  and  water  every  afternoon  at  half-past  five.  He  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  taking  this  concoction  at  other  hours  of  the  dayj  so  that 
the  coincidence  is,  to  say  the  least,  striking  and  curious.  .  .  .' 

2  Neither  L.  nor  C.  have  ever  lived  in  Bordeaux.  In  fact  H.  B.  was  the 
only  member  of  his  family  to  leave  his  native  land. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     303 

detail  in  connection  with  L.  This  fact,  which  raisons  de 
convenance  prevent  me  from  fully  relating,  defines  the 
nature  of  the  intercourse  which  had  existed  between 
H.  B.  and  his  brother  L.  The  circumstances  which 
the  writing  recalled  were  known  only  to  H.  B.  and  a 
few  near  relations. 

"I  am  fully  aware  that  the  above  details  have  no 
demonstrative  value,  for  I  knew  them  all,  and  the 
hypothesis  of  thought  transmission  can  explain  them 
quite  as  well  as  the  spirit  hypothesis.  Here  is,  however, 
a  case  which  is  less  easily  explained  : — 

"  One  of  my  friends  is  related  to  a  lady,  who  lives  with 
her  husband  in  Paris.  My  friend  told  me  that  this 
cousin  of  his  had  amused  herself  one  day  with  table- 
turning  ;  and  he  added  that  the  table  had  followed  her 
without  any  one  touching  it.  I  had  spoken  of  this 
incident  to  M.  Meurice,  but  without  mentioning  names. 
The  incident  of  the  table  following  the  novice  the  first 
time  she  had  tried  table-turning  was  the  only  thing 
mentioned. 

"Quite  recently,  while  pursuing  my  inquiry  upon 
mediums'  eyes,  H.  B.,  through  automatic  writing,  told 
me  that  the  afore-mentioned  friend  would  be  able  to 
give  me  some  information  on  the  subject ;  the  writing 
then  named  his  cousin,  but  called  her  by  her  maiden 
name,  giving  the  name  correctly. 

"  Now  two  or  three  days  afterwards,  M.  Meurice  had 
a  vision  or  a  dream — often  he  cannot  tell  whether  it  be 
one  or  the  other  ;  he  saw  an  aged  lady  sitting  before 
a  large  table,  on  the  top  of  which  a  dolFs  table  was 
standing ;  two  younger  women  were  with  her  ;  one  of 
these  latter  made  the  small  dolFs  table  turn  round  three 


304       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

times  without  touching  it.  The  room  in  which  these 
ladies  were  sitting  was  large,  and  M.  Meurice  thought  it 
was  in  a  country-house.  The  curtains  were  of  rose- 
coloured  velvet. 

"  The  scene  described  was  the  one  my  friend  had 
related  to  me,  but  I  pointed  out  to  M.  Meurice  that  one 
detail  at  least  was  certainly  incorrect :  viz.  the  doll's 
table.  H.  B.  immediately  wrote  :  '  He  has  not  made 
a  mistake,  it  was  the  small  table  which  moved,  and 
not  the  large  one.'  (//  ne  se  trompe  pas^  cest  Men  le 
mouvement  d'une  petite  table  qui  a  eu  lieu^  et  non  celui  (Tune 
grande,)  I  saw  my  friend  the  next  day,  and  I  related 
this  incident  to  him.  He  assured  me  it  was  quite  a 
mistake,  that  it  was  a  large  table,  and  not  a  dolFs 
table,  which  had  moved.  I  saw  him  again  a  few  days 
later,  when  he  told  me  he  had  made  further  inquiries 
about  the  table-turning  incident,  and  had  found  out  that 
it  was  indeed  a  doll's  table  placed  upon  the  large  table, 
which  had  effected  the  movements  in  question. 

"  The  vision  was  therefore  exact  on  this  point ;  it  was 
also  exact  concerning  the  number  and  age  of  the  persons 
present,  but  the  room  in  which  the  seance  took  place 
was  in  Paris  and  not  in  the  country  ;  the  description  of 
the  room  was  incorrect. 

"  In  this  case,  automatic  writing  confirmed  the  details 
seen  hallucinatorily,  or  in  dream  ;  these  details  were 
most  certainly  unknown  to  M.  Meurice  as  well  as  to 
myself.  I  will  add  that  even  had  I  mentioned  my 
friend's  name,  which  I  can  affirm  I  did  not  do,  that 
name  would  have  been  of  no  assistance  to  M.  Meurice, 
inasmuch  as  he  does  not  know  my  friend,  much  less 
his  cousin  in  Paris, 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     305 

"  This  is  the  most  precise  case,  in  which  M.  Meurice 
has  given  me  correct  details  unknown  to  myself. 

*'  If  we  examine  in  a  general  manner  the  character  of 
the  H.  B.  personification,  we  are,  perhaps,  obliged  to 
admit  that  it  presents  a  spiritistic  appearance.  This 
appearance  is  all  the  more  singular,  in  that  it  manifests 
in  a  centre  where  the  spiritistic  hypothesis  is  looked 
upon  with  disfavour.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  fact,  that 
tendencies  opposed  to  those  of  the  normal  personality 
are  often  observed  in  secondary  personalities. 

^*  Young  girls  of  a  most  timid  and  reserved  disposition, 
normally,  sometimes  show  obscene  parasitic  personalities, 
under  the  influence  of  which  they  give  utterance  to  the 
most  filthy  language,  and  perform  most  indecent  acts. 
The  processes  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
are  most  instructive  from  this  point  of  view,  especially 
those  of  Loudun  and  Louviers.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  to  see  personifications  calling  themselves 
spirits  emerge  in  a  non-spiritistic  centre ;  it  is  probably 
a  phenomenon  comparable  to  that  of  the  secondary 
personalities  just  spoken  of.  A  difiFerent  synthesis  of 
psychological  elements  is  formed,  which  follows  an 
opposite  bent  to  the  one  normally  followed.  It  is  as 
though  the  poles  were  changed,  and  a  secondary  person- 
ality reveals  itself  as  the  very  reverse  of  the  first 
personality. 

*^  The  interesting  point  to  seek  for,  however,  is  not  the 
genesis  of  the  personification,  for  there  are  so  many 
hypotheses  which  might  explain  it,  but  to  determine 
which  explanation  concerning  the  personification  best 
suits  the  particular  circumstances. 

*'  My  observations  upon  the  H.  B.  personification— the 

u 


3o6       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

most  thorough  I  have  so  far  been  able  to  make — do  not 
permit  me  to  form  a  definite  conclusion  ;  at  the  same 
time,  they  do  not  tend  to  make  me  look  favourably 
upon  the  spirit  hypothesis.  If  we  resume  the  details 
given  by  H.  B.  : — 

''  A,  About  himself,  his  person,  we  find  : 

*'  I.  2.  Two  ways  of  wearing  his  beard. 

*'  3.  A  peculiar  mark  near  the  eye. 

"4.  5.  A  very  peculiar  walk  :  right  leg  shorter 

than  the  left. 
"  6.  The  hair  was  fairly  well  described. 
'*  7.  The  eyes  were  not  well  described. 

*'  B.  Details  about  his  clothes  and  habits  : 
"  8.  An  unusual  shape  of  slipper. 
"9.  The  shape  and  colour  of  his  cravats. 
''  10.  His  walking-stick. 
"II.  The  manner  in  which  he  passed  the  last  six 

years  of  his  life  in  an  armchair. 
"12.  The  shawl  which  habitually  covered  his  legs. 
**  13.  His  habit  of  taking  a  glass  of  brandy  and 

water  every  afternoon  at  5.30. 
**  14.  His  allusions  to  his  brother  L.  and  to  his 

death. 
"15.  A  gold  chain  and  pendants  which  he  never 

possessed  :    followed,    however,    by    the 

rectification  of  the  error. 
'*  16.  The  detail  of  the  Temp, 

"  That   is  to   say :    two   inexact,  two   doubtful,  and 
twelve  accurate  details. 

"It  may  be  of  interest  to  draw  attention  to  the  process 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     307 

employed  by  this  personification  to  prove  his  identity  ; 
it  is  worthy  of  some  attention,  because  it  touches  on 
precise  details.  Those  particular  signs  which  are  of 
capital  importance  in  the  identification  of  persons,  we 
find  in  details  i,  2,  3,  4,  5,  10,  13,  14,  and  it  would  be 
most  unjust  to  refuse  to  recognise  in  these  indications 
at  least  an  appearance  of  volition  and  intelligence. 

"  The  character  of  volition  has  been  decidedly  indicated. 
The  H.  B.  personification  began  to  manifest  itself  by 
giving  details  concerning  his  physical  appearance  and 
his  habits.  When  M.  Meurice  saw  H.  B.,  he  frequendy 
perceived  the  apparition  very  indistinctly,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  particular  point  which  the  personification 
appeared  to  be  desirous  of  impressing  upon  him  ;  this 
occurred  particularly  with  details  i,  2,  4,  5,  9,  and  for 
the  rectification  of  the  watch-chain  incident — 15. 

"  The  character  of  intelligence  has  not  been  less  marked 
than  the  character  of  volition.  The  personification  gives 
the  impression  of  having  deliberately  chosen  the  signs, 
by  which  he  desired  to  prove  his  identity.  Everybody 
knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  recognise  such  or  such  a 
person  by  the  mere  description  of  features  ;  definite 
details  and  peculiar  marks  are,  on  the  contrary,  of  the 
greatest  value  for  purposes  of  identification :  and  these 
are .  precisely  the  details  which  H.  B.  seems  to  have 
chosen  ;  these  are  the  kind  of  details  he  seems  to  have 
shown  with  the  greatest  persistence. 

"  Such  facts  as  these  plead  in  favour  of  the  spirit 
hypothesis  ;  it  would  be  unfair  to  deny  it. 

"  In  the  first  place,  there  are  some  inaccuracies,  e.g.  15. 
Can  we  attribute  this  to  the  iconogenical  activity  of  the 
medium?     This  is  the  theory  which  Dr.  Hodgson  has 


3o8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

so  finely  developed,  and  the  arguments  he  appeals  to 
are  very  serious.  The  sensorial  or  motor  message  is  due 
either  to  the  medium  himself,  or  to  an  intelligence 
distinct  from  that  of  the  medium,  or  to  the  combined 
action  of  the  two  intelligences.  Notwithstanding  Dr. 
Hodgson's  weighty  arguments,  this  explanation  can  only 
be  considered,  at  present,  as  a  working  hypothesis.  It 
is  rather  difficult  to  understand  why  an  extraneous  in- 
telligence could  give  twelve  accurate  details,  and  make  a 
mistake  in  two  or  three  other  important  details ;  it  is  still 
more  difficult  to  understand,  if  the  identity  in  question  be 
present,  why  he  should  commit  such  mistakes  ;  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  personal  action  of  the  medium 
explains  these  errors  even  less  satisfactorily. 

"  Nevertheless,  we  must  admit  that  even  if  we  accept 
the  hypothesis  of  the  personal  action  of  the  medium 
troubling  the  extrinsical  action  of  a  foreign  intelligence, 
this  simultaneous  blending  of  true  and  false  details  is 
little  made  to  bring  about  a  conviction  of  the  inter- 
vention of  an  active  intelligence,  other  than  that  of  the 
medium. 

'*  Finally,  even  in  admitting  as  proven  the  intervention 
of  an  intelligence  non-human,  nothing  permits  us  to 
affirm  that  it  is  really  the  person  in  question  who  is 
manifesting  and  not  an  impersonation.  This  distinction 
has  been  well  put  forward  by  theologians,  though  the 
rules  they  give  for  the  discernment  of  spirits  appear  to 
us  to  be  most  puerile. 

"  To  sum  up,  the  case  of  H.  B.  has  an  appearance  which 
is,  frankly  speaking,  spiritistic ;  but  it  is  not  possible  to 
consider  as  certain,  or  even  as  probable,  the  pretensions 
manifested  by  this  interesting  personification." 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     309 


SERIES  B 

A.    RAPS 

I  propose  gathering  together,  for  the  first  part  of 
this  series,  a  few  interesting  things  scattered  here  and 
there  among  the  notes  before  me. 

On  one  occasion  Chappe  dictated  by  means  of  raps 
without  contact — in  broad  daylight — that  760  copies  of 
a  work  of  Dr.  Maxwell's  had  been  sold.  Four  days 
later,  in  the  same  manner,  he  said  that  958  copies  of  the 
said  work  had  been  sold  ;  incorrect  information  as  the 
following  proves :  the  day  after  the  seance  in  which 
Chappe  had  announced  the  sale  of  958  copies,  Dr. 
Maxwell  received  a  letter  from  the  publisher  of  the 
work  in  question  telling  him  that  800  copies  had  left 
him,  including  the  press  service. 

**  We  had  some  good  phenomena  on  Tuesday  afternoon," 
writes  Dr.  Maxwell.  '^  I  was  talking  to  M.  Meurice  about 
my  bibliographical  researches,  and  of  the  best  plan  to 
adopt  for  the  analytical  indexes.  A  small  mahogany  table 
was  near  us,  one  leg  of  the  table  was  touching  a  rug  on 
which  M.  Meurice  was  sitting.  Raps  resounded  on  the 
table ;  Chappe's  signal  was  given,  followed  by  some 
advice  concerning  the  subject  of  our  conversation.  Tele- 
kinetic  phenomena  were  also  forthcoming — the  table 
gliding  towards  us  and  then  away  from  us  according 
to  request,  travelling  a  distance  of  from  three  to  ^yq 
inches. 

**  Then  I  tried  an  experiment,  one  I  have  been  wishing 
to  try  for  some  time  :  I  bade  M.  Meurice  sit  in  an 


3IO       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

armchair  and  lie  perfectly  still.  I  placed  his  arm  at 
about  one  foot  from  the  table,  and  told  him  to  fancy  he 
lifted  his  arm  and  struck  the  table,  without,  of  course, 
making  the  slightest  movement. 

"  We  obtained  some  excellent  raps  in  this  way.  This 
is  a  fine  experiment,  for  it  shows  clearly  the  production 
of  raps  by  the  will — the  direct,  conscious  and  personal 
will. 

*'  We  tried  three  series  of  experiments  ;  six  raps  in 
each  series  were  willed  ;  we  received  four  raps  in  each, 
that  is  to  say,  (^(i  per  cent,  of  success.  The  raps  were 
loud,  one  was  double.  The  medium  nearly  fainted  after 
this  experiment,  but  came  round  quickly,  though  he 
has  not  been  well  since. 

"  His  sensations  were  :  (i)  absence  of  sensation  in  the 
arm  with  which  we  were  experimenting  ;  (2)  a  kind  of 
breeze  issuing  from  his  shoulder.  After  willing  the 
raps  he  was  never  sure  of  success,  he  did  not  feel  the 
wood  had  been  touched.  Sensibility  appeared  to  be 
exteriorised." 


In  another  of  Dr.  MaxwelFs  letters  we  note  the 
following  : — 

"  For  our  seance  yesterday  we  obtained,  as  usual,  a 
quantity  of  raps  through  the  lead-pencil.  I  succeeded  in 
provoking  them  upon  myself.  Sensation  produced  : 
when  M.  Meurice  put  the  pencil  on  bone  I  had  a 
sensation  of  a  slight  electric  current ;  it  produced  no 
contractions  in  the  muscles  traversed  ;  the  sensation  was 
at  its  maximum  on  bone,  probably  because  of  the  greater 
conductibility  offered  by  solids  to  vibration. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     311 

"  I  have  tried  the  raps  upon  several  substances  with  the 
following  result  : — 

the  finger  :  good, 
wood  :  very  good,  maximum, 
ivory;  good, 
iron  :  bad. 
"  Sensibility   appears    to   be    exteriorised    during    the 
production  of  raps  through  a  pencil.     Yesterday  there 
was  sensibility  at  a  distance  of  four  centimetres  from  the 
periphery  of  the  hand,  which  was  holding  the  pencil,  when 
the  raps  were  forthcoming. 

**  I  asked  Chappe  to  indicate  in  one  word  why  it 
was  easier  to  obtain  raps  with  a  lead-pencil.  He 
dictated  the  answer,  '  Localisent.^ 

**  Before  we  separated  we  received  the  following  message 
by  raps  without  contact :  *  Jeanne  Bordes  morte  7  octobre 
1859  a  St.  Pierre  Martinique,  demeurant  yj  rue  St. 
Jacques.'  I  do  not  know  of  any  Jeanne  Bordes,  though 
a  family  of  that  name  lives  at  St.  Pierre.  I  have 
questioned  some  people  who  have  lived  in  that  town, 
but  they  do  not  recollect  any  Jeanne  Bordes.  .  .  ." 
In  another  letter  the  doctor  writes  : — 
'*  Towards  four  o'clock  this  afternoon,  in  broad  day- 
light, some  very  fine  raps  resounded  on  a  table  standing 
thirteen  feet  away  from  M.  Meurice  and  myself.  It  was 
said  to  be  H.  B.  who  was  rapping.  M.  Meurice 
became  nervous,  and  the  experiment  only  lasted  for  five 
minutes.  It  was  magnificent  as  an  example  of  raps  at 
a  distance.'* 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  Dr.  X.'s  notes: — 
"  On  one  occasion  Professor  Richet  and  I  were  speak- 


312       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

ing  about  a  relation  of  the  professor's,  A.  R.,  who 
was  supposed  to  have  communicated  with  him  through 
M.  Meurice.  The  latter  could  not  have  overheard 
our  conversation,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he  was 
at  least  ten  miles  away  from  where  we  happened  to  be 
at  that  moment.  Five  or  six  hours  afterwards,  when 
Professor  Richet  was  out  walking  with  M.  Meurice,  raps 
suddenly  resounded  on  the  latter's  walking-stick,  and 
the  following  words  were  dictated  :  '  Suis  avec  vous' 
(Who  are  you  ?)  *  A.  R.  Je  ne  vous  at  jamais  ahandonne,^ 
"  In  the  course  of  the  morning's  conversation,  the 
remark  had  been  passed  that  the  persistency  of  this 
personification's  manifestations  would  be  looked  upon  by 
some  as  a  sign  of  survival,  and  I  had  made  use  of  the 
words:  *  I  wonder  if  he — A.  R. — has  been  near  you  lately.' 

"  The  medium  was  aware  of  certain  experiments  I 
had  made  with  a  sensitive  at  Nancy.  He  often  heard 
me  discuss  with  Professor  Richet  and  Dr.  Maxwell,  the 
phenomena  I  witnessed  there.  One  day,  in  presence 
of  Professor  Richet  and  myself,  Chappe  dictated  that 
he  followed  me  about  sometimes,  upon  which  I  said  : 
'  Were  you  with  me  in  Nancy } '  He  replied  (by 
means  of  raps  without  contact)  :  *  Oui.  T>.  s  attire  des 
ennuis  en  groupant  autour  de  lui  des  influences  inferieures. 
Defiez-vous  de  la  domestique.  Fraude.  II  y  a  eu  autre- 
fois un  fort  medium^  Henri  Dubuc^  a  Nancy.  S.  nest  pas 
un  medium  a  materialisations.'' 

"  This  communication  was  given  in  broad  daylight,  by 
means  of  raps  without  any  contact  whatsoever.  The 
raps  resounded  on  a  table  which  was  standing  near, 
but  which  was  not  touched,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     313 

by  the  medium.  From  time  to  time  Professor  Richet 
and  I  leant  on  the  table,  but  not  with  a  view  to  aiding 
the  phenomena — I  mean  to  furnishing  *  force/  Our 
touching  the  table  or  not  seemed  to  make  no  difference 
to  the  rapping  intelligence.  The  message  was  dictated 
with  precision  and  rapidity. 

'*  It  is  to  be  noted,  that  M.  Meurice  held  a  decided 
opinion  concerning  the  experiments  at  Nancy  ;  he  was 
not  at  all  inclined  to  admit  their  authenticity.  The 
group,  at  whose  seances  I  had  been  permitted  to  be 
present,  know  of  no  Henry  Dubuc. 

"  While  the  preceding  communication  was  being  given, 
one  of  the  observers  made  the  remark,  sotto  voce^  that 
he  had  a  headache,  and  wondered  if  Chappe  could 
suggest  a  remedy  :  immediately  the  somewhat  laconic 
reply,  '  T>ormez^  was  rapped  out." 

•  ••••• 

The  following  message  contains  an  incident  of  a 
certain  interest,  if  the  reader  will  kindly  compare  it 
with  the  efforts,  related  in  Series  C,  page  359,  to 
obtain  a  particular  name. 

"  A  letter  had  been  received  from  Professor  Richet, 
in  which  reference  had  been  made  to  a  curious  occur- 
rence at  Carqueiranne,  very  much  like  an  orthodox 
haunting.  During  lunch,  I  spoke  about  this  to  the 
medium.  As  often  happened  when  the  conversation 
turned  on  these  grounds,  raps  mingled  freely  with  our 
conversation.  Thereupon  I  asked  who  was  rapping, 
and  received  the  reply  that  C.  R.  (Professor  Richet's 
grandfather)  was  present  ;  whereupon  the  following 
conversation  between  this  personification  and  myself 
took  place  : — 


314       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

"  Question  :  Can  you  explain  the  haunting  at  Carquei- 
ranne  ? 

"  C.  R.  :  Out. 

"  Question  :  Who  is  it  who  haunts  the  place  ? 

"  C.  R.  :  Mere, 

"  Question  :  Whose  mother  ? 

"  C.  R.  :  Grandmother  Jacques. 
Mhe  Charles. 

'^  (Jacques  is  the  name  of  the  boy  to  whom  the  incident 
in  question  occurred.) 

"  Question  :  What  is  her  name  ? 

^'  C.  R. :  Eugenie. 

"  This  name  *  Eugenie '  is  the  one  we  had  tried  in  vain 
to  obtain  four  months  previously.^  It  was  now  given  with- 
out any  hesitation  whatsoever,  by  raps  without  contact. 

"  Following  this  word  *  Eugenie/  the  raps  predicted 
the  death  of  one  of  my  brothers  in  a  month^s  time  from 
an  automobile  accident.  The  prediction,  happily,  re- 
mains unfulfilled.  When  this  message  was  received,  I 
did  not  know  if  my  brother  ever  rode  in  motor  cars ;  and, 
for  several  reasons,  I  did  not  consider  it  at  all  likely  ; 
but  three  weeks  afterwards,  I  had  a  letter  from  him  asking 
me  to  procure  him  several  catalogues,  as  he  had  the 
intention  of  buying  a  motor  car.  My  brother  lives  in 
California.  The  medium  knew  I  had  relations  in 
California,  but  did  not  know  about  my  brother,  much 
less  his  name." 

In  the  following  messages,  the  raps  were  obtained 
with  and  without  contact. 

**  I  had  been  anxious  about  my  youngest  brother,  and 
had  openly  spoken  of  my  anxiety,  saying  I  had  reason 

1  See  page  359. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     315 

to  fear  that  my  brother  and  his  tutor  did  not  get  on 
well  together.  One  evening,  during  dinner,  Chappe 
rapped  out  the  signal  intimating  his  presence  ;  the  raps 
resounded  on  the  table  close  to  where  I  was  sitting, 
and  at  a  distance  of  about  three  feet  from  the  medium. 
Asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say,  Chappe  dictated  :  // 
faut  laisser  le  petit  en  repos  loin  de  son  tuteur.  I  wish  to 
draw  attention  to  the  last  word,  for  it  marks  a  curious 
error.  When  speaking  to  the  medium  of  my  brother,  I 
always  made  use  of  the  word  tuteur,  whereas,  in  French, 
I  should  have  said  precepteur.  The  two  words  have 
quite  a  different  meaning ;  my  brother  was  not  with 
a  tuteur  in  the  French  sense  of  the  word,  but  with  a 
precepteur. 

"  Now,  a  short  time  before,  my  brother  had  shown 
symptoms  of  a  cardiac  affection,  and  was  undergoing 
a  special  treatment.  Neither  the  medium  nor  Dr. 
Maxwell  knew  of  this  ;  they  thought  my  brother  was  in 
the  best  of  health,  as  indeed  he  appeared  to  be. 

**  After  the  last  communication  had  been  received,  I 
asked  Chappe  if  my  brother's  health  was  good.  My 
question  was  :  Est-ce  que  sa  sante  est  bonne  ?  The 
answer  came  :  Arythmie  du  coeur ;  separez-le  de  son 
tuteur. 

"  At  the  time,  I  myself  did  not  know  the  precise 
nature  of  the  weakness.  I  simply  knew  that  my  brother 
had  had  two  attacks  of  spasms  of  the  heart ;  but,  I 
repeat,  I  had  not  mentioned  this  fact  to  any  one.  A 
fortnight  after  receiving  the  foregoing  communication, 
I  had  a  letter  from  the  doctor  charged  to  watch  over 
my  brother,  in  which  letter  the  term  *  arythmie '  was 
employed  for  the  first  time,  in  connection  with  him. 


31 6        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

"  My  family  thought  of  sending  my  brother  to  the 
Pyrenees  for  a  few  months'  rest  and  change.  I  asked 
Chappe  if  he  could  tell  me  what  was  contemplated  ;  he 
replied :  Peut-etre  ferez-vous  Men  de  garner  Raoul  aupres 
de  vous ;  dans  deux  mots,  Paris,  campagne,  Hyeres,  Ik, 
Arcachon  ;  all  so  many  efforts,  one  would  say,  to  read 
my  thoughts — but  without  success. 

"  A  seance  had  been  arranged  for  at  which  Dr. 
Maxwell,  Professor  Richet  and  I  were  to  be  present. 
Much  had  been  expected  from  this  seance,  for  there 
were  many  signs  of  ample  force.  The  raps  were 
certainly  excellent,  and,  with  a  great  show  of  dignity, 
asked  :  Permettez-vous  a  un  ami  de  (mentioning  my 
name)  de  venir  ?  Permission  being  given,  it  was  an- 
nounced that  "  Georges  R.  '*  wished  to  speak  with  me. 

"  I  know  of  no  Georges  R. ;  the  medium,  however,  was 
aware  of  the  fact  that  R.  is  one  of  my  family  names. 

'*  The  raps  (*  Georges  R.')  continued  :  Votre  pere 
a  eu  un  accident  de  voiture ;  foie  tres  contusionne ;  soaisr 
chute ;  (soir  sa  chute  ?). 

"  No  accident  of  any  kind  has  happened  to  my  father 
either  at  the  time  of  receiving  the  above  message,  or 
since. 

"  The  rapping  ceased  abruptly,  when  this  last  message 
was  given,  and  no  further  phenomena  occurred  at  this 
particular  seance. 

"  At  a  short  seance  at  which  Dr.  Maxwell  and  I  were 
present,  the  medium  said  he  could  see  Chappe  walk- 
ing about  the  room  with  a  lady  on  his  arm  ;  the  lady 
was    dressed    in    mourning.       Raps    accompanied     the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     317 

medium's  words  and,  the  name  of  the  lady  in  mourning 
being  asked  for,  the  word  *  Marguerite '  was  dictated. 
Asked  why  she  was  in  mourning,  the  raps  replied  that 
it  was  for  identity's  sake,  because  '  Marguerite '  was  in 
mourning  when  she  died.  (Signe  identite — en  deuil  quand 
elk  est  morte.)  Asked  for  the  name  of  the  person  for 
whom  Marguerite  was  in  mourning,  when  she  died,  the 
raps  replied  :   *  Katey.' 

**  Now,  a  favourite  aunt  of  mine  died  a  few  years  ago, 
whose  name  was  Marguerite.  My  mother  died  a  few 
weeks  before  my  aunt ;  consequently  my  aunt  was  in 
mourning  for  my  mother,  when  she  died.  My  mother's 
name  was  Kate,  but  my  aunt  always  called  her  Katey. 

'^  I  can  affirm  never  having  spoken  of  these  details 
either  to  Dr.  Maxwell  or  to  the  medium. 

"  During  this  seance  it  was  Dr.  Maxwell  who  spelt  out 
the  alphabet." 

I  will  give  one  more  quotation  from  Dr.  X.'s  notes  : — 
"  Chappe  was  rapping  so  noisily  and  abundantly  one 
morning  that,  in  default  of  other  phenomena  being 
forthcoming,  I  asked  him  if  he  would  kindly  tell  me 
what  was  man's  occupation  after  death.  My  exact 
question  was  :  ^'est-ce  qu'on  fait  dans  r Au  dela  ? 
Very  quickly  and  unhesitatingly  the  raps  answered  : 
On  est  dans  ravissement  profond,  et  occupe  uniquement  de 
faire  le  honheur  de  tons  ceux  qui  sont  chers  et  le  souci 
d'apporter  despreuves  d^une  vie  future.'' 

In  the  exposition  of  the  few  facts  in  this,  as  well  as  in 
the  other  series,  we  are  trying  to  throw  every  light  in  our 
power  upon  the  agency  operating  behind  these  messages. 


31 8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

This  necessitates  personal  details  here  and  there  which, 
we  hope,  the  reader  will  forgive.  On  every  occasion, 
unless  the  reverse  has  been  stated,  M.  Meurice  was 
thoroughly  wide-awake.  It  was  often  he  who  spelt  out 
the  alphabet,  especially  when  the  observers  had  reason  to 
suspect  a  name — or  the  nature  of  the  message  to  be  given. 
He  always  permitted  a  constant  and  careful  scrutiny  of 
his  every  movement,  when  the  raps  were  produced  with 
contact.  When  raps  were  forthcoming  without  contact, 
they  were  given  wherever  requested,  e.g.  on  a  chair,  the 
floor,  the  centre  of  the  table  or  under  such  or  such  an 
observer's  hand  ;  in  these  cases  the  vibration  was  easily 
perceived.  When  the  pencil  was  used,  care  was  taken — 
by  holding  M.  Meurice's  hand  and  the  pencil — to  make 
sure  of  the  fact  that  neither  hand  nor  pencil  stirred, 
while  the  raps  were  being  produced. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  authenticity  of 
the  raps,  which  gave  the  messages  laid  before  the  reader 
in  this  chapter. 

All  things  considered,  the  chances  seem  great  that 
these  raps  are  not  accidental,  but  significant  of  some 
fact  in  the  complex  and  obscure  structure  of  human 
personality — dare  we  say  in  the  structure  even  of  the 
Cosmos  ? 


B.    TELEKINETIC    PHENOMENA 

The  following  is  Dr.  Maxwell's  compte  rendu  of  some 
telekinetic  phenomena,  which  were  forthcoming  on  the 
25th  and  26th  July  1903.  These  notes  were  written 
immediately  after  the  phenomena  occurred. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     319 

"25//^  July  1903;  4..30  P.M. 

**  M.  Meurice  and  I  were  working  in  a  small  study  in 
the  former's  house.  The  room  is  about  eight  feet 
long  by  eight  feet  wide.  On  the  NE.  side  is  a 
window ;  SW.  a  door ;  NW.  a  glass  door.  The 
window  was  closed,  and  the  shutters  were  half  closed  on 
account  of  the  excessive  heat  and  glaring  light.  The 
furniture  consists  of :  a  writing-table  in  the  E.  corner  ; 
a  divan  against  the  NE.  wall ;  a  low  chair  in  the 
S.  corner ;  a  rectangular  table  in  front  of  the  couch 
or  divan ;  a  small  hexagonal  table  near  the  rectangular 
table  ;  a  gilt  cane  chair  in  front  of  the  window  ;  a 
wooden  stool  in  the  W.  corner  ;  a  chimney-piece  in 
the  N.  corner ;  an  armchair  in  front  of  the  rectangular 
table  ;  a  small  gilt  chair  was  between  the  latter  table  and 
the  divan.     It  was  drawn  under  the  table. 


3^5 


S 


Door 


armchair 


OB 


^ 


Pyjndow 


Glass 
JPoor 


o: 


'himr\ev 


"  M.  Meurice  and  I  had  been  writing  (correcting 
proof  sheets)  on  the  hexagonal  table.  M.  Meurice  was 
sitting  on  the  edge  A  of  the  divan,  I  was  at  B  opposite 
him,  when  raps  were  heard  on  the  writing-table — with 
which  M.  Meurice  had  no  contact.  I  measured  a 
distance  of  two  feet  between  him  and  the  writing-table. 


320       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

At  the  same  time,  raps  in  quantity,  but  of  feeble  tonality, 
resounded  on  the  hexagonal  table. 

"  We  removed  our  writing  materials  on  to  the  rectangu- 
lar table,  for  the  sake  of  more  room.  The  raps  gradually 
ceased ;  they  died  out  altogether  on  the  writing-table  and 
began,  though  very  feebly,  to  resound  on  the  rectangular 
table.  We  worked  for  an  hour  and  then  rested  a  while. 
M.  Meurice  sat  back  on  the  couch,  putting  one  of  his 
feet  on  the  chair  between  the  divan  and  the  table.  Raps 
immediately  resounded  on  the  chair.  I  went  and  sat 
down  beside  my  friend,  and  observed  that  the  raps 
appeared  to  come  from  his  foot ;  I  found  that  they  were 
synchronous  with  our  movements  ;  they  also  responded 
correctly  to  my  mental  and  spoken  request. 

*'  I  left  the  couch  and  sat  on  the  armchair  in  front  of 
the  rectangular  table.  M.  Meurice  drew  his  legs  under 
him  and  sat  on  the  divan,  tailor-fashion.  We  decided 
to  try  to  move  the  gilt  chair  standing  between  the  divan 
and  the  table.  There  was  a  space  of  fourteen  inches 
between  the  divan  and  the  chair.  I  sat  on  the  armchair. 
M.  Meurice  brought  his  hands  towards  the  chair,  palms 
facing  the  chair  ;  he  kept  his  hands  still  at  a  distance  of 
seven  to  eight  inches  from  the  back  of  the  chair;  I  stretched 
out  my  arms  above  the  table  towards  the  chair.  When  I 
contracted  my  muscles,  the  arms  and  hands  extended,  the 
chair  moved.  The  amplitude  of  the  movement  was  very 
small,  scarcely  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  but  the  movement 
was  abrupt  and  decided.  It  was  a  jerk,  which  took  place 
shortly  after  the  muscular  contraction. 

"This  movement  was  reproduced  three  times  under  the 
same  conditions. 

*'  Then  M.  Meurice  and  I  changed  places.     I  sat  on  the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     321 

couch  in  the  same  way  as  he  had  sat ;  M.  Meurice 
made  the  same  movements  I  had  made.  The  chair 
moved  twice  ;  the  amplitude  of  the  movement  was  much 
greater  than  with  me ;  the  chair  was  displaced  an  inch 
each  time.  After  the  second  movement  was  produced, 
M.  Meurice  said  he  felt  tired  ;  he  lifted  his  arms  above 
his  head  and  stretched  himself ;  that  is  to  say,  he  pulled 
himself  upwards  ;  his  feet  did  not  go  near  the  table. 
While  stretching  himself,  the  chair  suddenly — for  the 
third  time — displaced  itself  a  distance  of  an  inch.  The 
latter  movement  coincided  with  the  extension  of  the 
back,  at  the  moment  when  the  muscles  of  the  grooves 
and  lomho-sacre  contracted. 

"  The  direction  of  these  movements  was  from  the  table 
towards  the  couch  ;  the  chair  receded  from  the  table, 
whether  M.  Meurice  or  I  sat  on  the  couch. 

"  Seeing  how  easily  these  movements  without  contact 
were  being  obtained,  we  went  downstairs  into  the  dining- 
room  with  the  object  of  trying  to  obtain  some  pheno- 
mena, which  M.  Meurice  had  obtained  when  alone  the 
previous  day  ;  namely,  the  attraction  of  wine-glasses. 

**  I  took  a  liqueur-glass,  and  put  it  on  the  mantelpiece 
in  the  dining-room.  M.  Meurice  made  some  passes 
around  the  glass,  then  put  his  two  hands  together 
meeting  them  at  the  finger-tips  ;  he  drew  his  hands 
slowly  away,  the  glass  followed  his  hands  by  jerks. 

"  We  then  returned  to  the  study.  I  sat  down 
on  the  divan  and  prepared  to  resume  my  writing. 
M.  Meurice  was  standing  near  the  mantelpiece.  In  a 
few  minutes  I  heard  him  say  he  was  attracting  the  chess- 
men. I  got  up  and  watched  carefully.  His  hands  were 
in  the  position  described  above  in  connection  with  the 

X 


322        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

liqueur-glass  ;  he  drew  his  hands  slowly  backwards, 
and  the  red  king  followed  his  hands  ;  this  tiny  piece 
is  about  half  an  inch  in  height  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
in  diameter.  The  movement  was  slow  and  gliding. 
M.  Meurice  tried  to  reproduce  the  phenomena  but 
failed.  He  said  he  was  tired  and  would  rest  a  while. 
In  a  few  minutes  he  renewed  his  efforts.  I  stood 
close  beside  him  ;  again  failure.  After  a  few  more 
minutes  of  rest,  he  tried  again — I  watching  him  closely 
all  the  while — and,  this  time,  succeeded  in  attracting 
the  same  piece — the  red  king.  The  piece  followed 
the  direction  of  his  fingers,  as  before,  slowly  and 
smoothly. 

"  M.  Meurice  again  complained  of  feeling  tired,  and 
I  urged  him  not  to  try  for  any  more  phenomena,  but 
to  lie  down  and  rest.  I  went  to  my  writing  once  more, 
but  M.  Meurice  was  restless,  and  told  me  he  wanted  to 
try  to  move  an  empty  beer-bottle,  which  was  standing 
on  the  mantelpiece. 

"  He  took  it  from  the  mantelpiece  and  put  it  on 
the  wooden  stool.  He  knelt  down  in  front  of  the 
stool,  and  made  the  same  manoeuvres  with  his  hands 
as  for  the  liqueur-glass  and  the  chessman.  I  remained 
sitting  on  the  divan,  a  distance  of  nearly  seven  feet  from 
the  stool.  M.  Meurice,  after  the  above-mentioned 
manoeuvres,  i.e.  passing  his  hands  several  times  round 
the  bottle,  joined  his  hands  together  at  the  finger-tips, 
and  drew  them  gently  backwards  as  before.  The  bottle 
moved  four  times,  each  time  from  two  to  three  inches. 

"  M.  Meurice  then  said  he  felt  sea-sick  ;  and  he  was 
obliged  to  lie  down  for  a  while.  He  soon  rose  up, 
however,  and  said  he  wanted  to   make  something  else 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     323 

move.  He  took  a  piece  of  sealing-wax,  tried  several 
times,  but  failed  to  move  it.  Thereupon  I  persuaded 
him  to  cease  making  further  attempts." 

«  z^th  July. 

"  Phenomena  of  attraction  similar  to  yesterday,  occurred 
this  afternoon.  We  were  in  M.  Meurice's  bedroom.  It 
was  four  o'clock,  the  window  was  open,  the  shutters  were 
ajar  ;  the  light  was  excellent. 

"The  mantelpiece  is  covered  with  plush.  On  one 
corner  there  is  a  statuette  in  porcelain  representing  the 
Thorn  ;  the  child  is  seated  on  a  chair,  and  is  pulling 
a  thorn  out  of  his  foot ;  the  statuette  is  five  inches 
high.  M.  Meurice  told  me  that  he  was  going  to 
make  this  statuette  move.  I  stood  near  him,  with 
one  hand  on  his  back  ;  I  stooped  down,  and  looked 
fixedly  and  narrowly  at  the  statuette  during  the  whole 
operation.  M.  Meurice  proceeded  exactly  as  in  the 
preceding  experiments,  and  when  his  hands — joined 
together  at  the  finger-tips — were  at  a  distance  of  six 
inches  from  the  statuette,  the  latter  swayed,  bent  slowly 
forward,  and  fell  over.  I  affirm  most  positively,  that 
there  was  no  hair  or  thread  or  normal  link  of  any 
kind  whatsoever  between  the  statuette  and  the  medium's 
hands.  I  passed  my  hand  all  round  the  statuette,  before 
the  movement,  during  the  movement,  and  after  the 
movement  ;  I  thus  verified  by  touch,  what  my  eyes 
were  witnessing. 

**  Now,  after  M.  Meurice  had  made  some  passes  with 
his  hands  around  the  statuette  (without  touching  it,  be 
it  remembered),  and  when,  after  putting  his  hands 
together  at  the  finger-tips,  he  slowly  withdrew  them, 
I  heard  a  slight  noise,  like  the  rubbing  of  a   hair  on 


324       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  statuette  ;  at  the  same  time  the  latter  swayed  ;  this 
creaking  sound  did  not  continue,  and  only  accompanied 
the  first  movements  of  the  statuette.  Again  I  affirm, 
that  there  was  no  hair  or  thread  whatsoever  connecting 
the  medium's  hands  with  the  statuette. 

"After  the  production  of  this  phenomenon,  we  decided 
to  have  a  dark  seance,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to 
obtain  luminous  phenomena.  I  closed  the  shutters  and 
pulled  down  a  dark  blind,  especially  constructed  for 
dark  seances.  While  I  was  doing  this,  M.  Meurice 
continued  trying  to  attract  various  articles  on  the 
chimney-piece.  Seeing  this  I  drew  the  dark  blind 
away  again  and  let  in  more  light,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  see  clearly.  I  took  a  stick  of  sealing-wax,  broke 
off  a  piece  and  put  it  on  a  small  mirror,  which 
was  lying  on  the  mantelpiece.  In  this  case  M.  Meurice 
did  not  make  any  preliminary  passes  as  with  the 
statuette,  beer-bottle  and  liqueur-glass  ;  he  simply 
joined  his  hands  together  in  front  of  the  sealing-wax  ; 
the  sealing-wax  followed  his  hands  several  times,  in 
fact  every  backward  movement  drew  the  wax  after  the 
hands  ;  he  finally  drew  the  sealing-wax  to  the  edge  of 
the  mantelpiece,  when  it  fell  to  the  floor. 

"  The  seance  which  followed  was  unproductive.  A  few 
raps  were  heard,  but  that  was  all.  After  the  seance,  we 
lighted  up  the  room,  opened  the  window,  and  M.  Meurice 
again  tried  to  move  the  sealing-wax.  He  succeeded  with 
great  facility,  the  sealing-wax  following  every  movement 
of  his  fingers. 

*'  By  sight  and  touch,  I  assured  myself  of  the  absence 
of  any  link  between  the  wax  and  M.  Meurice's  hands. 
I  solemnly  affirm  that  no  such  link  of  any  kind  existed. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     325 

**  I  desired  to  write  a  letter,  and,  thinking  that  the 
phenomena  were  probably  exhausted  for  the  time  being, 
I  begged  M.  Meurice  to  allow  me  to  get  off  my  letter. 
I  was  in  the  act  of  writing,  when  he  said  he  felt  he 
could  move  another  article.  I  watched  him  :  he  took 
up  another  statuette,  which  stands  a  foot  high  ;  he  put 
this  statuette  on  a  small  table  which  was  near  me  ;  he 
kept  his  hands  open,  palms  turned  towards  the  object 
in  question.  He  moved  his  hands  slowly  backwards 
and  forwards,  and  I  observed  the  statuette  bend  forward 
when  his  hands  receded,  and  bend  backwards  when  his 
hands  approached  it.  His  hands  were  never  nearer  than 
ten  inches  to  the  object. 

"  M.  Meurice  then  complained  of  feeling  unwell,  and 
threw  himself  on  his  bed.  His  hands  touched  the  head 
of  the  bed,  on  the  woodwork  of  which  raps  at  once 
resounded.  Chappe  gave  his  signal,  and  dictated  : 
*  B.  MENAGEz.'  Questioned  as  to  what  he  meant,  he 
said  to  take  care  of  the  medium,  and  not  to  take 
advantage  of  the  power.  We  ceased  experimenting, 
therefore. 

"  I  have  a  few  remarks  to  make  concerning  the 
above  phenomena.  When  I  held  my  friend's  hands, 
I  obtained  nothing.  M.  Meurice  says  he  saw  a 
thread,  or  rather  a  sheath  of  filaments,  pass  from  his 
fingers  on  to  the  object  of  experimentation.  As  a  rule, 
he  made  passes  over  the  object  he  wished  to  move,  as 
though  he  were  putting  a  thread  of  some  kind  around 
it.  He  did  not  always  do  this,  e.g.  if  the  object  to 
be  moved  were  light  and  small,  he  made  no  passes 
over  it. 

**  This  movement  would  be  very  suspicious,  if  observa- 


2^6       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

tion  were  superficial ;  but  apart  from  the  purely  scientific 
spirit  in  which  M.  Meurice  views  his  own  phenomena, 
the  severe  control  I  exercised  demonstrated  the  absence 
of  any  material  link  whatever." 


More  Extracts  from  Dr.  Maxwell's  Notes 

"  3^<^  June  1903. 

"  A  movement  without  contact  was  forthcoming  this 
afternoon.  I  placed  a  table  upside  down  upon  a  linen 
sheet.  M.  Meurice  and  I  put  our  hands  on  the  sheet, 
some  distance  away  from  the  table.  The  latter  turned 
completely  over  ;  the  movement  was  performed  slowly 
and  gently.  It  was  at  four  o'clock,  the  sunlight  was 
streaming  in  through  the  open  window. 

"  We  also  obtained  the  movement  of  a  heavy  wooden 
stool  with  slight  contact.  M.  Meurice  and  I  were 
sitting  on  a  couch,  the  stool  was  near  us  ;  abundant 
raps  were  heard  on  the  stool.  M.  Meurice  took  up  a 
piece  of  linen,  put  one  end  on  the  stool,  putting  a  framed 
picture  on  top  of  it  to  keep  it  in  place  ;  he  put  the  other 
end  on  his  knees.  In  a  few  minutes,  the  stool  swayed 
about  and  finally  moved  a  distance  of  three  inches  away 
from  M.  Meurice.  I  watched  him  well  and  can  afiirm 
he  moved  neither  hand  nor  foot  during  the  production 
of  this  phenomena. 

'*  M.  Meurice  experienced  much  fatigue  after  this 
movement.  It  occurred  at  half-past  four  ;  the  light,  I 
repeat,  was  excellent." 

"  iitA  June  1903. 

"It  appears  that  M.  Meurice  attracted  several  objects 
— pieces  of  bread,  forks,  etc. — yesterday  during  lunch. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     327 

But  he  could  not  reproduce  the  phenomena  in  my 
presence.  We  had,  however,  raps  and  numerous  slight 
movements  without  contact — raps  almost  ad  libitum. 
Automatic  writing  followed,  but  contained  nothing  of 
interest ;  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  replies  to  mental 
questions  :  subjectivity. 

**  P.iS. — I  am  adding  a  postscript  to  my  letter  from  the 
medium's  house ;  for  we  have  just  received  some  fine 
phenomena.  The  raps  were,  as  usual,  very  abundant ; 
but  we  also  received  two  fine  series  of  parakinetic 
movements. 

"  I.  I  brought  a  small  mahogany  table  up  to  the  sofa 
on  which  M.  Meurice  had  thrown  himself.  I  sat  down 
beside  him,  taking  a  shawl  which  I  threw  over  him 
and  the  table.  Instantly,  raps  resounded  on  the  table. 
M.  Meurice  could  not  possibly  have  touched  the  table 
without  my  noticing  it. 

"  The  table  swayed  about,  now  on  this  side,  now  on 
that ;  and  then  dragged  itself  towards  me  by  jerks,  first 
one  side,  then  the  other.  When  I  squeezed  M.  Meurice's 
hand  or  gave  him  a  slight  tap  on  the  shoulder,  there  was 
a  synchronous  movement  in  the  table.  The  latter  also 
moved  in  response  to  request.  Then  it  gently  raised 
itself  up  on  the  two  feet  which  were  nearest  to  me  ;  this 
side  lost  contact  with  the  floor  and  rose  to  a  height  of 
four  inches. 

"  1.  We  were  both  carefully  watching  this  interesting 
phenomenon,  when  I  heard  raps  on  another  table  which 
was  about  a  foot  away  from  the  sofa  and  two  feet  away 
from  the  table  with  which  we  were  experimenting. 
This  second  table  had  no  contact  whatsoever  either  with 
the  sofa  or  with  the  shawl :  it  was  isolated.     Hearing 


328        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  raps,  I  looked  at  the  table  and  saw  it  rise  up,  or  to 
be  more  correct,  sway  about — only  three  of  its  legs 
touching  the  ground.  M.  Meurice  had  not  noticed 
this  phenomenon  ;  when  I  drew  his  attention  to  it,  he 
became  suddenly  nervous,  and  complained  of  feeling 
tired.  I  pointed  out  to  him  how  much  this  sensation  of 
fatigue  was  subjective  and  out  of  all  proportion  with  the 
energy  expended.  But  new  or  unexpected  phenomena 
always  upset  him  ;  he  experiences  a  sort  of  anguish 
blended  with  something  like  fear  in  presence  of  a  new 
phenomenon. 

*'  These  movements  of  the  second  table  lasted  for 
several  minutes  ;  they  were  synchronous  with  our  own 
movements  and  muscular  contractions,  but  were  also 
forthcoming  at  request.  We  were  operating  in  broad 
daylight.  Chappe  informed  us,  by  raps,  that  he  was 
the  operator  on  this  occasion.'' 

"  iiM  July  1904. 

"  I  was  obliged  to  make  an  early  call  on  our  medium 
this  morning.  Lucky  visit !  for  he  was  in  a  working 
mood  and  gave  two  fine  movements  without  contact. 
We  began  by  sitting  at  a  table,  where  we  received  raps 
by  means  of  the  lead-pencil  ;  the  words  :  Put  yourselves 
against  the  daylight  were  rapped  out.  We  did  not 
understand  what  this  meant,  and  ceased  experimenting. 
We  went  downstairs  and  walked  about  in  the  garden  for 
a  few  minutes.  When  we  went  back  to  the  study,  we 
resumed  our  seance.  M.  Meurice  sat  down  on  the 
divan  and  I  in  front  of  him.  Raps  without  contact 
dictated  :  Lie  down  for  a  while^  we  want  to  try  for  a 
physical  effect. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     329 

*'  The  raps  directed  that  I  was  to  He  down  on  the  sofa 
and  M.  Meurice  was  to  take  my  place.  We  followed 
these  directions. 

'*  M.  Meurice  said  he  felt  '  queer '  ;  that  his  hands 
seemed  to  be  full  of  hair,  or  rather  of  spider's  web,  and 
he  tried  to  rub  the  feeling  away.  I  got  up  and  took 
down  from  the  mantelpiece  the  statuette  of  St.  John, 
the  history  of  which  you  know.^  He  tried  to  attract  it, 
but  without  results.  We  waited,  the  spider's  web  sensa- 
tion returned,  and  this  time  I  prevented  him  from  rubbing 
it  off;  he  drew  his  hands  together  over  and  then  in  front 
of  the  statuette  and — his  fingers  at  a  distance  of  five 
inches  from  the  object — attracted  it  to  him.  The 
statuette  moved  two  inches. 

*'  M.  Meurice  felt  ill  after  this  movement,  and  was 
obliged  to  lie  down  for  a  while.  He  soon  got  up,  and 
tried  again.  But  I  stopped  him,  fearing  he  might  over- 
tire  himself;  though  the  statuette  did  not  move  forward 
this  time,  it  swayed  about." 

"18M  July  1904. 

*'  On  Thursday  morning,  M.  Meurice  again  succeeded 
in  attracting  the  statuette  of  St.  John.  He  told  me  he 
felt  the  cobwebby  sensation,  which — in  his  case — coin- 
cides with  telekinetic  phenomena  ;  he  took  the  statuette 

1  "  Concerning  the  statuette :  the  medium  was — two  months  previous  to  the 
seance  here  spoken  of — given  the  catalogue  of  a  sale  of  antiquities  to  be  held 
at  Bordeaux.  When  going  to  bed  he  took  the  catalogue  to  glance  over  it  j 
but  he  says  he  was  so  sleepy,  that  he  did  not  get  any  further  than  the  first 
page.  In  the  night,  he  dreamt  that  he  was  to  buy  No.  256  in  the  catalogue, 
which — he  was  told  in  his  dream — was  the  Christ  of  whom  he  had  seen  the 
vision  a  few  months  previously,  when  Madame  Stephens  was  with  us.  (See 
Series  C,  page  349.) 

"  When  the  medium  awakened,  he  looked  up  No.  256,  and  found  that  it  was 
an  ancient  wooden  statuette  of  St.  John  the  Baptist." — l<lote  by  Dr.  X. 


330        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

in  question  and  placed  it  on  a  table.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded as  though  he  were  putting  something  behind  the 
object,  making  several  passes  with  his  hands  all  round 
it.  As  he  was  drawing  his  hands  away  from  the  statuette 
— they  had  reached  a  distance  of  nine  inches — I  heard 
something  like  the  crackling  of  a  hair  or  silken  thread  on 
the  wood  of  the  statuette,  and  then  the  latter  moved. 

*'The  excellent  conditions  of  light  under  which  the 
experiment  took  place,  the  control  of  sight  and  touch 
which  I  most  carefully  exercised,  the  proximity  of  the 
statuette  to  my  eyes,  all  this  renders  the  absence  of  any 
hair  or  thread  most  certain  for  me.  This  is  the  second 
time  I  have  heard  this  scraping  sound. 

'*  M.  Meurice  was  extremely  fatigued  after  the  pro- 
duction of  this  phenomenon,  and  fainted.  On  recovering 
himself,  he  insisted  on  trying  once  more,  and  succeeded 
in  making  the  statuette  sway  about. 

"  The  day  following  this  experience,  he  attracted 
several  small  articles — wine-glasses,  bread,  etc. — near  his 
reach  on  the  luncheon-table.    I  was  not  present,  however. 

"You  perceive  how  very  suspicious  the  phenomena 
sometimes  appear  to  be.  Nothing  short  of  actual  obser- 
vation could  demonstrate  the  absence  of  a  connecting 
link  of  some  kind  between  the  medium*s  hands  and 
the  object  in  movement." 

C.    LUMINOUS    PHENOMENA 

By  Br.  X. 

"  For  about  eighteen  months.  Dr.  Maxwell  has  been 
endeavouring  to  turn  the  phenomena  in  the  direction  of 
luminosities  or  materialisations. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     331 

**  With  that  object  in  view,  he  has  had  a  light  portable 
cabinet  constructed.  This  fragile  apparatus  consists  of 
eight  pieces  of  pinewood  fitting  into  one  another  by 
means  of  hooks.  When  put  together,  there  is  just 
enough  space  inside  the  cabinet  to  allow  of  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  small,  straight-backed  chair  ;  a  person  sitting 
thereon,  finds  himself  in  contact  with  the  back  and  sides 
of  the  cabinet,  and  his  knees  against  the  door.  A  large 
curtain  of  purple  cloth  has  been  made,  which  is  thrown 
over  the  cabinet,  covering  it  completely.  The  curtain  is 
buttoned  over  the  door. 

"  The  luminous  phenomena  already  obtained  with  this 
medium  and  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Maxwell  on  pages  152-5, 
were  sufficient  grounds  for  hoping  that  patience  and 
perseverance  might,  finally,  obtain  happy  results  capable 
of  being  repeated. 

"  For  more  than  a  year  nothing  demonstratively 
objective  was  forthcoming.  In  the  darkness,  one  often 
imagined  one  could  see  clouds  of  vapour  moving  about 
near  the  cabinet ;  but  there  was  nothing  to  prove  that 
this  appearance  was  anything  more  than  an  optical 
illusion.  On  these  occasions,  the  medium  frequently 
complained  of  a  disagreeable  sensation  on  his  hands 
and  face,  as  though  he  were  caught  in  a  spider's  web. 
He  has  also  said,  that  he  perceived  from  time  to  time 
an  odour  of  phosphorus  or  ozone  in  the  cabinet ;  the 
medium  has  been  the  only  one  of  the  experimenters  to 
notice  this  odour,  so  far. 

"  Whenever  I  have  been  present  at  these  attempts, 
I  have  observed  that  they  were  accompanied  by  complete 
cessation  of  all  other  phenomena,  such  as  visions,  raps, 
telekinesis.      Until    November    1904,    this    apparently 


33^ 


METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


negative  result  was  about  all  that  was  obtained  at  these 
dark  seances. 

"  During  the  first  week  in  November,  the  medium 
being  in  good  form,  and  the  *  force '  abundant,  it  was 
decided  to  devote  a  few  days,  which  Professor  Richet 
was  able  to  dispose  of,  to  an  effort  to  obtain  luminous 
phenomena. 

"  Three  seances  in  all  were  held.  There  were  present. 
Professor  Richet,  Dr.  Maxwell,  M.  Meurice,  and  myself. 
The  seances  were  held  in  a  very  small  room  on  the  top 
floor  of  the  medium's  house. 

*'  The  following  is  a  diagram  showing  the  disposition  of 
the  room  in  which  the  three  seances,  of  which  I  am 
giving  the  compte  rendu ^  took  place. 


M. 


Cabinet^ 


^^liPy 


X. 


R, 


Tal/c 

A. 


'.cor 


\ 


"  The  door,  which  was  shut,  leads  into  another  room, 
the  two  doors  of  which — leading  into  a  corridor — were 
locked  during  the  experiment.  The  window  and 
shutters  of  this  adjoining  room  were  closed,  and  the 
room  darkened,  so  that  no  light  therefrom  could  pene- 
trate under  the  door  of  the  seance-room. 

"  The  seances  were  held  between  5  and  6.30  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  Total  darkness  was  obtained  by  closing 
the  outside  shutters  and  the  window,  and  by  hanging  a 
large  black  curtain — kept  for  the  purpose — across  the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA    333 

window.  No  ray  of  light  was  visible  on  the  sides  of  the 
window  ;  the  position  of  the  latter  could  be  guessed  at 
during  the  seance — simply  because  we  knew  where  it 
was — but  could  not  be  perceived.  The  darkness  was 
profound.  A  candle  and  box  of  matches  were  placed  on 
table  A.  When  the  experimenters  were  seated,  the 
candle  was  blown  out. 

'^Results. — Tuesday,  ist  November  1904.  The  four 
experimenters  were  seated  around  the  table  (see 
diagram)  ;  the  medium  (who  is  not  marked  on  the 
diagram,  because  he  was  in  the  cabinet  whenever 
phenomena  were  forthcoming)  was  seated  between  Dr. 
Maxwell  (M)  and  Professor  Richet  (i^),  with  his  back 
to  the  cabinet :  No  results — nothing  whatever — neither 
raps  nor  anything  else. 

'*  The  medium  goes  into  the  cabinet.  After  an  interval 
of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  M  and  X  think  they  see  milky- 
looking  clouds  floating  about  near  the  cabinet,  but  they 
are  unable  to  affirm  the  objectivity  of  this  appearance. 
At  the  close  of  the  seance,  feeble  raps  are  heard  on  the 
table  ;  the  raps  dictate  that  Professor  Richet  is  to  sit  in 
the  cabinet  on  the  following  day." 


Second  Seance 

**  Wednesday,  znd  November  1 904. 

"  Professor  Richet  sits  in  the  cabinet.  The  medium 
sits  at  the  spot  marked  M  on  the  diagram  ;  Dr. 
Maxwell  sits  at  R.  After  sitting  in  this  way  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour — during  which  time  nothing  occurred 
— the    medium    asked    to    be   allowed    to   go    into  the 


334        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

cabinet.  Professor  Richet  then  sits  at  R,  and  Dr. 
Maxwell  at  M.  Almost  immediately  M  and  X  see  a 
phosphorescent,  milky-looking,  amorphous  light,  of  about 
six  inches  in  diameter  in  parts,  floating  about  outside 
the  door  of  the  cabinet.  It  was  decidedly  objective, 
lasted  for  about  one  minute,  and  gradually  disappeared. 

"  R  did  not  see  the  light. 

*'[From  an  experiment  made  on  the  following  day,  we 
have  all  three  reason  to  believe,  that  Professor  Richet 
did  not  see  the  luminosities  at  this  seance  because  of 
his  position.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  X  was  in 
direct  line  of  vision  with  the  door  of  the  cabinet,  and 
that  M  was  also  favourably  placed  for  observation. 
These  facts  did  not  strike  us  until  the  seance  was  over, 
and  R's  inability  to  see  what  M  and  X  affirmed  were 
objective  lights  was  incomprehensible  at  the  time 
being.] 

**  When  the  medium  took  Professor  Richet's  place  in 
the  cabinet,  he  said  the  latter  appeared  to  him  to  be  all 
lighted  up  ;  when  Dr.  Maxwell  and  I  saw  the  light 
outside  the  cabinet,  the  medium  declared  he  was  in  utter 
darkness.  During  the  production  of  this  phenomenon, 
M.  Meurice  was  heard  to  breathe  heavily  ;  he  said  he  did 
not  know  why  he  felt  obliged  to  do  this ;  he  complained 
of  feeling  suddenly  very  cold  ;  at  the  same  time,  a  cold 
perspiration  broke  out  on  his  forehead.  He  also  said 
that  he  felt  the  need  of  stretching  himself  and  yawning. 

"An  interval  of  ten  minutes  now  passed.  Then  M 
and  X  saw  an  amorphous  luminosity  gradually  form  in 
front  of  the  cabinet,  and  make  slight  movements  in  the 
direction  of  the  table  at  which  the  experimenters  were 
sitting.     M,  by  the  light  of  this  luminosity,  sees  the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     335 

curtain  slowly  open,  and  close  again  as  the  light 
disappears. 

"  R  sees  nothing  definite.  He  thinks  he  sees  a  cloud- 
like substance,  but  is  not  sure  of  its  objectivity  (because 
of  his  position  ?). 

"  As  in  the  case  of  the  first  luminosity,  so  for  this 
second  one,  M.  Meurice  declares  that  the  cabinet  is 
lighted  up  within,  becoming  dark  when  M  and  Xsee  the 
light.  He  has  the  same  sensations  of  cold.  In  addition, 
he  says  he  feels  tired,  and  asks  to  be  allowed  to  dis- 
continue the  seance. 

"  No  odour  of  phosphorus  was  perceptible,  although 
the  lights  we  observed  had  something  of  a  phosphor- 
escent appearance  ;  but  I  think  it  would  be  more 
correct  were  I  to  compare  what  I  saw  on  this  occasion 
with  the  Milky  Way  ;  in  fact,  these  luminosities  pre- 
sented an  appearance  almost  exactly  similar  to  that 
presented  by  the  Orion  nebulae,  when  seen  through  the 
telescope. 

"  The  medium  looked  pale  and  tired,  when  we  closed 
the  seance,  but  he  quickly  recovered  his  vitality,  and 
during  dinner — scarcely  an  hour  later — some  fine  tele- 
kinetic  movements  of  a  heavy  walnut  dining-table  were 
forthcoming  in,  of  course,  full  light.  Seeing  the  table 
move,  apparently  of  its  own  accord,  we  joined  hands 
two  feet  above  the  table,  and  succeeded  in  making  it 
follow  the  direction  our  hands  took  :  now  an  inch 
to  the  right,  now  three  inches  to  the  left,  etc.  ;  we  had, 
finally,  a  strong,  rotatory  movement  of  six  inches.  The 
medium's  knees  and  feet  were  under  Professor  Richet's 
observation,  while  these  movements  were  being 
produced." 


336        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Third  Seance 

"  Thursday^  Y^  No'vember  1904. 

"  For  this  seance,  because  of  Professor  Richet's  inability 
to  see  the  lights,  which  were  visible  to  M  and  X  at  the 
preceding  seance,  the  experimenters  change  their  places, 
and  sit  in  the  following  manner  : — 


^j 


^ 


Cabinet.  ^ 


^ 


X. 

R. 


K. 

'*  Professor  Richet  goes  into  the  cabinet  at  the  medium's 
request,  the  latter  takes  i^'s  place  at  the  table.  After 
an  interval  of  ten  minutes,  the  medium  goes  into  the 
cabinet  and  R  takes  his  new  place  at  the  table. 

*^  Almost  immediately,  lights  are  seen  moving  about  on 
the  door^  of  the  cabinet.  R^  M,  and  X  all  see  these 
lights.  M  does  not  see  the  first  two  lights,  which  R 
and  X  mention  seeing.  He  moves  closer  to  i?,  and 
then  sees  distinctly.  R  has  the  impression  that  a  ray  of 
light  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  long,  and  varying 
from  one  to  three  inches  wide,  is  placed  at  the  opening 
in  the  curtains ;  he  thinks  he  sees  the  curtains  held  open, 
so  to  say,  by  the  light. 

"  The  ray  of  light  appears  broader  to  X  than  to  R  and 
M.  X  says  he  distinctly  sees  the  curtains  move,  and 
open  ;  he  has  the  same  impression  as  R^  namely  that  of 
the  light  holding  the  curtains  apart. 

**  This  luminous  ray  was  shown  six  times,  at  intervals 
of  a  few  seconds  only.  Its  duration  varied  from  ten 
seconds   to   a    minute.       In    form,    it    was    constantly 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     337 

changing,  though  the  long  ray  remained.  R,  M,  and  X 
had  the  impression  that  the  luminosity  was  forming 
around  the  ray.  A  long,  vertical  streak  of  light  was 
shown  first  of  all  ;  the  succeeding  lights  appeared  to  be 
built  up  around  this  ray,  which  always  remained  the  centre 
of  luminosity ;  i.e.  the  light,  strong  in  the  centre,  died 
away  to  right  and  left,  leaving  no  distinct  outline  to 
the  luminosity  which,  besides  being  amorphous,  was 
extremely  mobile,  though  in  a  sense,  fairly  stationary. 
R,  M,  and  X  saw  slight  differences  in  the  shape  of  the 
lights,  a  fact  which  was  perhaps  due  to  their  relative 
positions  ;  but  all  three  agreed  as  to  the  vertical  ray 
and  the  general  shape  the  luminosity  appeared  to  be 
assuming. 

"  From  time  to  time,  M.  Meurice  complained  of  an 
oppressive,  suffocating  sensation,  and  said  that  he  felt  he 
must  open  the  curtains,  for  a  few  seconds.  Whenever 
he  opened  the  curtains,  no  lights  were  visible.  M  and 
X  took  hold  of  his  hands  when  he  opened  the  curtains, 
and  closed  the  latter  themselves,  when  M.  Meurice  said 
he  felt  better. 

**  At  this  seance,  as  before,  the  medium  prepared  us 
for  each  phenomenon,  by  announcing  beforehand,  that 
his  cabinet  was  suddenly  illuminated,  and  as  suddenly 
darkened ;  the  darkness  inside  corresponded  to  a 
luminosity  outside  the  cabinet. 

"  The  six  lights  above  mentioned  were  very  distinct, 
and  very  luminous  (phosphorescent). 

"The  phenomena  ceased  for  a  few  minutes.  M. 
Meurice  then  asked  to  be  allowed  to  change  places  with 
X,  This  is  done  ;  ^remains  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  the 
cabinet,  during  which  time  M.  Meurice  says  he  sees  an 


338        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

oval-shaped  light,  about  three  times  the  size  of  an  egg, 
floating  about  on  the  curtains  of  the  cabinet.  R  and  M 
see  nothing.  The  medium  returns  to  the  cabinet,  and  X 
resumes  his  seat.  Immediately,  large  triangular-shaped 
luminosities  are  seen  by  M  and  R  outside  the  cabinet. 
Xhas  suddenly  fallen  asleep. 

*'M  and  R  then  see  very  mobile,  amorphous  lights, 
varying  from  three  to  nine  inches  in  diameter,  float- 
ing about  J^'s  head  for  a  few  seconds  ;  their  lumin- 
osity is  less  great  than  that  of  the  lights  seen  on  the 
curtains,  but  is  sufficiently  pronounced  to  light  up  X's 
forehead. 

''The  phenomena  again  cease.  X  awakens.  M. 
Meurice  asks  Dr.  Maxwell  to  change  places  with  him. 
The  doctor  remains  in  the  cabinet  for  ten  minutes :  no 
phenomena  ;  M.  Meurice  returns  to  the  cabinet,  and  M 
resumes  his  place  at  Professor  Richet's  left. 

*'  Very  quickly,  the  same  phenomena  as  before  occur. 
The  luminous  ray  assumes  a  broad,  oval-shaped  appear- 
ance ;  it  measures  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  by  about 
fifteen  inches  ;  it  advances  a  few  inches  towards  the  table, 
and  then  disappears,  to  show  itself,  a  few  seconds  later, 
larger,  rounder  in  shape,  and  more  brilliant.  M  and  X 
think  they  can  distinguish  the  outlines  of  a  human  face 
in  this  luminosity,  but  R  says  it  appears  amorphous  to 
him. 

''  Shortly  after  this,  Tkfand  Xsee  a  faintly  luminous  ball 
of  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  form  outside  the  cabinet, 
— on  the  curtain — approach  and  float  over  the  table  above 
the  experimenters'  hands.  R  sees  this  also,  but  compares 
it  to  a  luminous  fog.  R  cannot  affirm  the  correctness  of 
his  last  perception. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     339 

'*  Thereupon  the  seance  terminated. 

"  During  the  production  of  these  phenomena,  M. 
Meurice  complained  of  excessive  cold  ;  we  heard  him 
shivering,  and  his  teeth  chattering.  He  yawned  fre- 
quently, and  stretched  himself  repeatedly  ;  he  breathed 
heavily,  and  constantly  complained  of  feelings  of  oppres- 
sion and  sea-sickness. 

"  When  the  seance  was  over,  he  complained  of  intense 
thirst  and  drank  several  glasses  of  water. 

**  The  weather  on  these  three  days  was  very  fine,  dry, 
and  fresh. 

''  The  conclusions  arrived  at  by  those  who  were  present 
at  these  three  seances,  are  : — 

"  I.  That  the  above-described  luminosities  were  de- 
cidedly objective. 

"  2.  That  no  oversight,  no  error  of  observation  can 
explain  them." 

The  above  compte  rendu  was  drawn  up  by  Professor 
Richet,  Dr.  Maxwell  and  Dr.  X.  at  the  end  of  the 
se:inces. 


SERIES   C 
By  Dr.   X, 

The  reader  will,  perhaps,  kindly  forgive  a  few  pro- 
bably uninteresting  but  necessary  details,  before  we 
enter  upon  the  last  series  of  these  psycho-physical 
phenomena. 

Many  reasons,  chiefly  of  a  family  nature,  have  rendered 
a  substitution  of  names  imperative.  In  other  respects, 
and  as  far  as  the  phenomena  themselves  are  concerned, 


340       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

this  series,  like  the  foregoing,  adheres  most  strictly  to 
the  facts  as  they  occurred. 

Early  in  1903  a  gentleman,  whom  we  will  call  Mr. 
Stephens,  a  man  occupying  a  high  official  position  in 
Europe,  wished  to  marry  a  young  Swedish  girl.  Mr. 
Stephens's  parents  having,  it  appears,  made  other  matri- 
monial arrangements  for  their  son,  were  most  strongly 
opposed  to  his  wishes.  Mr.  Stephens  decided  to  follow 
his  own  inclinations,  and  was  quietly  married  to  Miss 
Marie  H.  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1903.  He  did 
not  inform  his  family  of  the  step  he  had  taken,  trusting 
to  time  and  events  for  the  strained  relations  between 
himself  and  his  people  to  disappear. 

A  short  time  after  his  marriage,  he  received  a  peremp- 
tory call  to  a  foreign  country.  It  was  impossible  for  his 
wife  to  accompany  him,  for  three  excellent  reasons  : 
I .  Mr.  Stephens  was  not  supposed  to  have  a  wife.  2.  The 
spot  he  was  ordered  to  is  not  a  spot  for  a  woman  to  visit 
— not  being  as  yet  civilised  in  the  European  sense  of  the 
word.  3.  Mrs.  Stephens  had  reason  to  believe  she  might 
become  a  mother.  Moreover,  Mr.  Stephens  did  not 
anticipate  a  longer  absence  than  that  of  six  months. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stephens  had  passed  the  interval 
between  their  marriage  and  the  former's  departure  for 
abroad  in  Paris.  They  lived  very  quietly,  and  had 
trusted  their  secret  to  no  one.  In  the  dilemma  into 
which  this  foreign  mission  plunged  them,  Mr.  Stephens 
decided  to  make  a  confidant  of  a  particular  friend,  certain 
as  he  was  that  his  secret  would  be  in  safe  custody.  This 
friend  was  Professor  Richet. 

Dr.  X.  writes  : — "  Mr.  Stephens  was  anxious  not  to 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     341 

leave  his  wife  alone  in  Paris,  during  his  absence,  and 
knowing  that  Professor  Richet  intended  making  a  long 
series  of  experiments  with  Dr.  Maxwell  at  W.,  he 
decided,  for  diverse  reasons,  to  send  his  wife  to  the 
same  locality.  Thus  it  came  about  that  Mrs.  Stephens 
was  invited  by  Professor  Richet  to  join  the  investigating 
circle,  a  circle  which  it  had  been  intended  should  be 
strictly  limited  to  Dr.  Maxwell,  Professor  Richet,  the 
medium  [M.  Meurice]  and  myself.  ISIo  one,  save 
Professor  Richet,  knew  of  the  foregoing  details. 

''  When  Mrs.  Stephens  arrived — her  husband  came  with 
her,  but  only  remained  a  couple  of  days — we  saw  a  tall, 
slight,  fair  woman  of  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  years 
of  age, — a  quiet,  gentle,  refined-looking  woman.  As 
she  was,  curiously  enough,  a  spvritist,  and  even  pos- 
sessed *  intuitive '  faculties  of  a  pretty  marked  character, 
— she  had  had  several  veridical  hallucinations,  and  occa- 
sionally indulged  in  spectrum  gazing  with  fair  results — 
her  addition  to  the  circle  was  looked  upon  by  the  other 
three  members  as  having  been  decided  by  Professor 
Richet,  because  of  her  nascent  psychical  powers.  No  sus- 
picion of  her  situation — of  which  even  Mrs.  Stephens  her- 
self was  as  yet  uncertain — ever  dawned  across  our  minds. 
She  was  an  early  riser,  a  good  walker,  and  apparently 
enjoyed  the  best  of  health.  The  most  practical  medical 
eye  could  have  detected  nothing  abnormal  in  her  health. 

"Very  much  had  been  expected  from  this  particular 
series  of  experiments  ;  but,  for  reasons  which  are  beyond 
our  comprehension,  comparatively  little  was  received. 
There  was  every  evidence  of  abundant  force,  and  the 
medium  was,  at  times,  almost  unnerved  by  our  syste- 
matic lack  of  success. 


342        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

'^  Throughout  the  whole  of  this  particular  series,  more 
than  ever  did  the  agency  manipulating  the  energy  act 
like  an  independent  intelligence,  giving  striking  evidence 
of  power  when  it  cared  to  do  so  and,  when  not  disposed 
to  communicate,  shutting  off  all  communication  most 
decidedly  and  completely." 

We  propose  setting  forth  succinctly,  but  in  detail,  the 
results,  both  mediocre  and  superior — an/^  just  as  they 
occurred — of  these  few  weeks  of  experimentation,  leaving 
it  to  the  reader  to  bestow  an  acute  analysis  upon  them  in 
his  own  guise.  It  was  only  as  the  time  allotted  this  series 
drew  to  a  close,  that  the  phenomena  took  a  personal  turn, 
and  bore  so  directly,  and  so  intimately,  upon  Mrs. 
Stephens's  life. 

The  notes  which  are  quoted  in  this  series  by  Dr.  X. 
are,  without  exception,  Professor  Richet's. 


First  Seance.     Time  8  to  lo.^o p.m. 

'*  Before  sitting  down,"  continues  Dr.  X.,  "  Dr. 
Maxwell  had  placed  on  the  table  a  small  cardboard  box, 
in  which  were  two  amethyst  crystal  balls. 

'*The  small  table  was  six  inches  away  from  M.Meurice, 
and  three  inches  away  from  Professor  Richet.  Contact 
had  been  purposely  established  between  the  two  tables  by 
means  of  a  small  white  cloth — which  did  not  interfere 
in  any  way  with  the  control  of  eyesight.  A  bright, 
electric  light  was  burning. 

'^  Several  visions  were  described  ;  they  offered  little 
interest.  Then  the  small  table  moved  abruptly  ;  it 
approached  the  seance  table  in  jerks,  covering,  in  this 
manner,  a  distance  of  two  and  a  half  inches.     It  was  veri- 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


343 


fied  that  no  contact  whatever  existed,  save  that  with  the 
white  cloth  ;  the  latter  was  not  touched  by  M.  Meurice. 
Then  for  nearly  an  hour  there  was  complete  cessation  of 
all  phenomena,  with  the  exception  of  perpetual  rapping 
without  intelligence.  Thinking  nothing  more  would  be 
forthcoming.  Dr.  Maxwell  and  Professor  Richet  rose  from 
the  table,  and  went  out  on  to  the  balcony  of  the  room  in 
which  the  seance  was  being  held.     Mrs.  Stephens,  the 

small 
hie 


D^M 


Mrs.S. 


Prof.li. 


BTX. 


medium,  and  I  remained  at  the  table.  I  asked  M.  Meurice 
how  he  proceeded  when  he  wished  to  attract  articles — 
up  to  that  moment  I  had  not  witnessed  this  interesting 
phenomenon.  He  replied,  '  I  have  an  odd  sensation  in 
my  fingers,  and  I  do  this ' — accompanying  his  words  by 
certain  hand  movements  ;  that  is,  he  drew  his  hands 
together  in  front  of  and  quite  close  to  the  cardboard 
box  still  lying  on  the  table  ;  he  withdrew  his  hands — 
joined  together  at  the  finger-tips — very  slowly,  and, 
when  the  tips  of  his  fingers  were  at  a  distance  of 
six  inches  from  the  box,  the  latter  began  to  move.  It 
moved  slowly  and  smoothly,  without  any  jerking  what- 


344        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

soever,  exactly  as  though  it  were  being  dragged  across 
the  table  by  a  cord.  I  thought  I  perceived  a  tiny 
ray  of  light  —  something  like  a  dewy  spider's  web 
with  the  sunlight  gleaming  through  it — connecting  M. 
Meurice's  fingers  with  the  box,  but  this  was  probably 
an  illusion,  as  there  was  nothing  palpable  to  the  touch. 
I  passed  my  hands  around  the  box,  and  all  over  the 
medium's  hands  and  arms,  but  there  was  no  thread  of 
any  kind  whatever.  M.  Meurice  said  he  had  not  seen 
the  box  move,  though  I  observed  he  appeared  to  be 
gazing  fixedly  at  it  during  the  operation,  and  though 
the  box  travelled  a  distance  of  six  inches. 

'*  Without  leaving  my  seat  I  called  in  Dr.  Maxwell 
and  Professor  Richet,  and  told  them  what  had  happened. 
M.  Meurice  was  asked  to  try  again,  while  Professor 
Richet  put  out  some  of  the  lights,  thinking  thus  to  help 
the  force,  which  might  have  been  too  severely  tried  by 
its  last  efforts.  I  take  the  following  extract  from  Pro- 
fessor Richet's  notes  : — 

"  '  The  same  phenomenon  was  reproduced  in  my  pre- 
sence, but  with  less  light — quite  sufficient,  however,  to  see 
everything,  and  every  movement  distinctly.  The  box, 
slowly  and  without  any  apparent  jerking,  followed  the 
medium's  fingers.  I  saw  the  box  slowly  displace  itself, 
and  drag  itself  over  the  plush-covered  table,  for  a 
distance  of  nearly  five  inches.  There  was  absolutely 
no  contact  of  any  kind  whatsoever,  either  mediate  or 
immediate.  A  strong  gastric  attack,  quickly  over, 
seized  the  medium  after  this  experience.'^ 

1  This  phenomenon  may  be  considered  of  such  importance  as  to  necessitate 
Professor  Richet's  exact  words  being  given ;  I  therefore  append  them  : — 
*  Un  autre  phenomene  d'attraction  tres  remarquable.     Une  petite  boite  en 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     345 

"  On  resuming  the  seance  the  raps  were  asked,  *  Who 
is  rapping  ? ' 

"  Reply  :  '  Antion.'     '  Is  it  Antoine  ? ' 

"  Reply  :  '  Yes,  Antoine  Br/  We  arrested  the  com- 
munication at  the  letter  r,  understanding  it  to  mean 
Antoine  B.  of  J  Complex  Case,  p.  214.  The  raps  then 
predicted  the  death  of  Madame  B.'s  second  husband  to 
take  place  in  March  1904." 

[This  premonition  was  not  realised.  The  gentleman 
in  question  is  in  remarkably  good  health  to-day, 
April  1905  ;  but,  at  that  time,  Professor  Richet 
was  anxious  about  him.  Dr.  L.  was  utterly  pro- 
strated by  the  sudden  death  of  his  wife  Madame  B. 
Neither  Dr.  Maxwell  nor  the  medium  knew  that 
Antoine  B.'s  widow  had  married  a  second  time  ;  nor 
were  they  aware  of  Professor  Richet's  anxiety  concerning 
Dr.  L.'s  health.-^ — NoSe  hy  the  Translator^ 

"The  communicating  intelligence,  purporting  to  be 
Antoine  B.,  was   then   asked:    'What  was  the  nature 

carton  carree  de  0.02  de  cote  environ  est  attiree,  d'abord  en  pleine  lumiere 
devant  Dr.  X.  Le  meme  phenomene  s'est  reproduit  devant  mol  avec 
beaucoup  moins  de  lumiere.  ...  La  boite  etait  lentement  et  sans  secousse, 
pendant  2  a  4  secondes,  attiree  par  les  doigts  du  mediiun  et  je  I'ai  vue  se  deplacer 
ainsi  lentement,  en  trainant  sur  la  peluche  jusqu'a  12  centimetres  environ.  II 
n'y  a  absolument  aucun  contact,  ni  mediat  ni  direct.  (Crise  gastriqiie  forte  et 
passagere  du  medium  a  la  suite  de  cette  experience.)  ' 

1  *  Since  the  above  was  written.  Dr.  George  L.'s  son,  Olivier,  a  youth  of 
nineteen,  has  been  killed  in  a  railway  accident  (see  p.  234.).  Notwithstanding 
the  errors,  there  is  a  certain  interest  in  the  fact  that  the  rapping  force  seemed 
to  sense  some  near  tragic  occurrence  to  some  member  of  the  family.  The  raps 
first  of  all  gave  the  surname  L.  of  the  person  destined  to  die  shortly;  it 
was  only  after  much  hesitation  that  the  name  of  George  was  given.  The 
raps  at  first  refused  to  give  the  date,  but,  after  much  pressing,  dictated  March 
1904. 

'  Professor  Richet  did  not  tell  any  one  that  Madame  X.  had  already  predicted 
the  early  death  "of  one  of  the  sons."  ' — Note  by  Dr.  X. 


346       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

of  Madame  B.'s  illness?'  Reply:  'Ness,  foie.'  (The 
doctors  who  attended  Madame  B.  when  she  died  have 
not  been  able  to  agree  as  to  what  the  malady  was,  though 
they  think  it  was  probably  of  a  tubercular  nature.) 

"  We  asked  Antoine  B.  for  another  sign  of  identity, 
and  received  the  word  *  Carlos/  (Professor  Richet  con- 
siders it  highly  probable  that  every  one  present  knew  that 
Antoine  B.  called  him  by  that  name.) 

*' '  When  the  raps  dictated  the  name  of  Antoine  B.,  the 
medium  said  he  saw  standing  near  me  a  young  man  of 
about  thirty  years  of  age  ;  he  had  very  soft  blue  eyes, 
and  a  short  pointed  beard.  As  far  as  it  goes,  this  applies 
to  my  friend  Antoine  B.*,  says  Professor  Richet. 

"  This  first  seance  gave  some  fair  results.  We  were 
now  destined  to  pass  several  weeks  without  receiving 
a  single  phenomenon  worth  mentioning.  We  cannot 
account  for  this ;  though  Dr.  Maxwell  is  inclined  to 
think,  that  the  energy  was  spent  in  efforts  made  to  obtain 
psychic  photographs.  The  weather  was  excellent,  every 
one  was  in  good,  even  exuberant,  health  and  spirits  ; 
the  circle  was  very  homogeneous  ;  no  a  priori  conditions 
had  been  laid  down.  Great  things  had  been  promised, 
but  the  great  things  were  not  forthcoming  ;  and  the 
*  force '  did  not  deign  to  explain  why,  though  it  gave 
occasional  signs  of  being  to  the  fore,  and  ready  to  work 
if  it  cared  to  do  so.  For  example,  it  would  rap  out  as 
many  airs  and  rhythms  as  requested,  but  took  refuge  in 
complete  silence,  or  disorder,  or  pleaded  fatigue,  if  asked 
for  telekinetic  phenomena  or  intelligent  messages.  It 
acted  like  a  lazy  child  asked  to  accomplish  a  possible 
but  difficult  task. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     347 

'*  Photography  was  tried,  but  without  success.  On  one 
of  these  occasions,  when  M.  Meurice  was  re-entering  his 
room  after  having  sat  for  photography,  he  heard  foot- 
steps beside  him,  and  had  the  vision  of  a  form  which 
interposed  itself  between  himself  and  the  door,  as  though 
desirous  of  preventing  him  from  entering  his  room. 
He  heard  the  words  :  '  Pardon,  je  n'ai  qu'un  moment, 
vous  avez  deja  entendu  parler  de  moi ;  je  suis  Antoine. 
Je  viens  voir  mon  fils.'  .  .  .  He  then  perceived  the 
form  of  an  old  man,  clean-shaven  save  for  short 
whiskers ;  he  was  wearing  the  crimson  robe  of  a 
magistrate.     The  hallucination  quickly  disappeared. 

'*  No  one,  save  Professor  Richet,  knew  that  this  day  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  his  maternal  grandfather, 
wnose  father's  name  happened  to  be  Antoine.  But  we 
were  all  aware  that  Professor  Richet  had  received  various 
communications  purporting  to  emanate  from  these  two 
ancestors  of  his.  It  was  also  known  that  his  grandfather 
had  presided  over  the  law-courts  at  Paris. 

"  On  one  occasion,  we  had  all  five  made  an  excursion 
into  the  country  :  and  here  I  quote  from  Professor 
Richet's  notes:  —  'Coming  home — it  was  moonlight, 
and  still  twilight — we  got  down  from  the  carriage — a 
private  omnibus — to  walk  a  while.  Dr.  Maxwell  and 
M.  Meurice  lagged  behind,  and  Dr.  X.,  Mrs.  S.,  and  I 
got  into  the  carriage  again,  before  they  had  caught  us  up. 
As  she  was  stepping  in,  Mrs.  S.  told  me  she  felt  as 
though  a  woman  were  running  behind  her,  and  were 
helping  her  into  the  carriage  ;  seated,  Mrs.  S.  continued 
to  perceive  this  vision ;  it  was  wearing  a  hood  on  its 


348        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

head,  and  a  cross  on  its  breast ;  the  vision  bent  its  head 
over  Mrs.  S.'s  hand,  pressing  its  teeth  on  it  "  as  though 
to  show  she  had  died  in  agony,  stabbed  to  death,"  said 
Mrs.  S.  When  Dr.  Maxwell  and  M.  Meurice  rejoined 
us,  the  former  told  me,  in  an  undertone,  that  M.  Meurice 
had  just  had  a  vision  of  a  woman  running  behind  Mrs.  S.; 
the  vision  was  wearing  a  hood  on  its  head.  M.  Meurice 
and  Mrs.  S.  continued  to  see  this  vision  for  above  five 
minutes  longer,  when  they  both  saw  it  disappear  into  a 
clump  of  trees.  M.  Meurice  and  Mrs.  S.  communi- 
cated their  impressions  to  Dr.  Maxwell  and  myself 
respectively. 

**  *  A  few  minutes  afterwards,  they  both  had  another 
simultaneous  vision.  Mrs.  S.  saw  a  man  astride  one  of 
the  carriage-horses ;  M.  Meurice,  with  an  identical  de- 
scription of  dress,  saw  a  man  not  seated  on,  but  running 
beside,  the  same  horse  holding  the  reins.  He  thought  it 
was  Chappe.     Then  everything  disappeared. 

'* '  Neither  visionary  communicated  their  impressions 
to  the  other.' 

"  Exception  made  of  the  attractions  of  the  box  and 
table,  the  foregoing  results  will  probably  be  considered 
as  demonstrative  of  nothing  in  particular.  We  were 
now  to  receive  something  more  interesting. 

*'  Let  it  be  said,  en  passant^  that  Mrs.  Stephens  never 
once  saw  the  medium  alone.  There  had  not  been 
the  slightest  break  in  her  reserve.  And  all,  save 
Professor  Richet  and  herself,  continued  to  think  she  had 
been  invited  by  Professor  Richet  solely  because  of  her 
psychical  powers.  M.  Meurice  sometimes  remarked, 
seeking    a   reason    for   the    inexplicable   failure   of   the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     349 

experiments,  that  he  believed  the  cause  lay  in  a  super- 
abundance of  power,  that  the  psychic  force  was  too 
great,  that  Mrs.  S.  gave  forth  too  much  power,  etc. 

"  Now,  early  one  morning,  three  weeks  after  we  had 
begun  this  series,  Mrs.  Stephens  remarked  to  Professor 
Richet  that  [I  again  quote  from  Professor  Richet's 
notes]  '  during  the  night  she  had  been  thinking  a  great 
deal  about  the  Christ,  and  had  said  to  herself,  if  the 
spirits  of  the  deceased  can  appear  to  man,  why  not 
the  Christ  ?  And  she  said  she  had  asked  for  a  sign  to 
be  given  her  that  this  could  be.  Mrs.  Stephens  had 
scarcely  pronounced  these  words,  when  Dr.  Maxwell 
came  into  the  sitting-room  and  said  :  '*  I  have  just  seen 
M.  Meurice,  he  had  a  vision  while  I  was  conversing  with 
him.  He  said  he  perceived  the  form  of  a  man  with 
short  hair  and  beard  ;  a  halo  of  light  behind  him,  a  circle 
of  gold  on  his  head ;  he  was  dressed  in  white ;  M.  Meurice 
says  it  was  the  Christ.  With  an  imperious  air,  the  form 
showed  him  a  thick  yellow  manuscript — a  papyrus — 
covered  with  writing.  As  M.  Meurice  was  trying  to 
decipher  the  characters  for  me,  the  vision  disappeared. 
M.  Meurice  was  suddenly  exhausted,  and  had  a  fit  of 
weeping  before  recovering  his  normal  condition." 

"  '  A  few  mornings  afterwards  the  medium  had  another 
vision.  This  time  it  was  Chappe  who  came,  it  appears, 
to  tell  him  that  it  was  not  the  Christ  whom  he  had  seen, 
but  a  Christ.'^ 

"  I  must  pause  a  while.  It  seems  that  Mrs.  Stephens 
did  not  care  about  returning  to  Paris  during  her  husband's 
absence  ;    and — in  the   event  of  her  hopes  being  well 

1  See  note,  p.  329. 


2 so       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

founded — had  expressed  to  Professor  Richet  her  great 
desire  of  passing  the  rest  of  the  year  near  Biarritz,  a 
place  for  which  she  had  a  great  liking.  She  begged 
Professor  Richet  to  write  for  her  to  a  house  agent  to 
procure  her  a  villa  in  that  town.  It  seems  also,  that 
Mrs.  Stephens — though  her  manner  had  never  betrayed 
this — had  taken  a  fancy  to  the  medium  and  his  family  ; 
one  of  his  sisters  is  an  experienced  hospital  nurse,  and 
Mrs.  Stephens  was  wondering — in  quiet  conversation 
with  Professor  Richet  only — if  it  would  be  possible  to 
persuade  her  to  come  and  live  with  her  at  Biarritz. 
Upon  this  conversation  Professor  Richet  obtained  the 
address  of  an  agent,  and  wrote  to  him  according  to 
Mrs.  Stephens's  wishes.  He  showed  the  letter  to  Mrs. 
Stephens.  The  latter  said  [again  I  quote  from  Professor 
Richet's  notes]  :  '  Since  I  spoke  to  you  about  Biarritz, 
Chappe  has  told  me  something.  He  wants  me  to  go 
to  Bordeaux.  Do  not  post  that  letter  yet,  let  me  wait 
a  little  while  ;  if  my  intuition  be  correct,  if  the  idea 
of  Bordeaux  really  came  from  the  spirits,  they  are  quite 
capable  of  finding  a  way  of  indicating  it  to  M.  Meurice 
and  Dr.  Maxwell.  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  of  it  myself 
to  M.  Meurice ;  this  must  come  from  the  spirits 
themselves.  .  .   .' 

*'  [We  are  endeavouring  to  give  a  faithful  account  of 
what  actually  occurred,  and  beg  to  be  forgiven  the 
unscientific  language,  which  is  occasionally  unavoidable, 
if  we  are  to  convey  a  correct  notion  of  the  physiognomy 
of  the  phenomena.] 

"  Now  the  morning  (a  Thursday)  following  the  day  on 
which  the  above  conversation  had  taken  place,  Mrs. 
Stephens  came  to  Professor  Richet,  and  told  him  she  had 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     351 

passed  a  very  strange  and  perturbed  night.  She  said 
that,  towards  eleven  o'clock,  she  was  suddenly  awakened 
by  a  sensation  that  some  one  was  in  her  room ;  she  was 
filled  with  fear.  She  turned  on  the  light,  but  saw 
nothing.  She  kept  the  light  burning,  but  still  felt 
unaccountably  frightened.  She  heard  raps  on  the  head 
of  her  bed.  Gradually  her  fear  quieted  down,  and  she 
said  she  began  to  feel  as  though  there  were  a  host  of 
spirits  in  her  room,  and  a  Great  Presence  was  among 
them.  *And  she  imagined/  writes  Professor  Richet, 
'  that  a  voice  spoke  to  her  in  these  terms  :  *'  A  powerful 
spirit  is  here,  be  not  afraid  ;  it  is  the  child's  guide  ;  your 
child  will  be  a  boy  ;  he  has  a  great  destiny  before  him,  he 
will  be  a  reformer.  We  counsel  you  not  to  force  his 
inclinations,  to  choose  no  career  for  him,  but  to  let  your- 
self be  guided  by  the  child  himself,  when  the  time  comes 
to  think  of  his  education." 

" '  Mrs.  Stephens  was  still  speaking  of  her  night's 
experience,  when  Dr.  Maxwell  came  into  the  room,  and 
handed  me,'  continues  Professor  Richet,  'some  verses 
which,  he  said,  had  just  been  written  by  M.  Meurice — a 
kind  of  quasi-automatism — in  a  state  of  semi-somnolence. 
He  could  not  understand  what  it  meant,  and  simply 
stated  the  fact  without  offering  any  comment  on  it.' " 

Here  are  the  verses.  For  the  sake  of  brevity  we 
omit  five  of  them,  they  are  in  the  same  strain  as  those 
given.  We  believe  the  reader  will  prefer  to  see  these 
verses  in  the  original  : — 

Quand  un  enfant  vient  au  monde, 
Vient  au  monde  d'ici-bas, 
II  faut  qu'un  ange  en  reponde, 
Et  le  suive  pas  a  pas. 


352        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Pas  a  pas  il  faut  qu'il  guide 
La  petite  ame  en  chemin, 
La  petite  ame  timide, 
Qu*il  doit  prendre  par  la  main. 

Et  les  anges  se  querellent 
Autour  des  bebes  naissants, 
S'ils  sont  de  ceux-la  qu*appellent 
Vers  la  Clarte  les  Puissants. 

Dans  la  foule  qui  I'assaille 
La  petite  ame  choisit ; 
Elle  est  emue  et  tressaille, 
Et  la  crainte  la  saisit. 

II  faut  qu*autour  de  la  m^re, 
De  la  m^re  qui  l*attend, 
Seuls  les  anges  de  lumi^re 
Guettent  le  petit  enfant. 

**  During  the  course  of  the  day,  Professor  RIchet  said  to 
Mrs.  S.  that  it  would  perhaps  be  well  if  she  spoke  to  the 
medium  about  his  sister ;  but  Mrs.  Stephens  answered  : 
*  No.  Wait  a  little  longer.  I  would  have  spoken  to 
M.  Meurice,  had  I  been  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the 
spirits  ;  but  I  think  it  better  to  let  the  spirits  tell  them.' 

'*  Thursday  passed  away  without  any  further  incident, 
and  nothing  was  said  to  Dr.  Maxwell  concerning  Mrs. 
Stephens's  experiences  in  the  night,  or  the  concomitant 
nature  of  the  automatic  script  with  those  experiences. 

"  On  Friday  morning.  Dr.  Maxwell  told  Professor 
Richet  that  he  had  just  obtained  more  automatic  writ- 
ing through  M.  Meurice.  This  writing  purported  to  be 
a  communication  from  Chappe.  The  communication 
concerned  Mrs.  Stephens,  said  Dr.  Maxwell,  but  was 
not   to  be  given  to  her  for   the  time  being.      Chappe 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     353 

asked  that  a  sitting  might  be  arranged  for  on  the  same 
afternoon,  as  he  had  something  to  say.  The  sitting  took 
place  ;  it  lasted  from  two  to  six  o'clock,  during  the  whole 
of  which  time  Chappe  did  not  once  make  use  of  his 
well-known  subterfuges  of  *  fatigue/  *  silence,'  *  no  power,' 
etc.  ;  and,  though  as  the  seance  wore  on  M.  Meurice 
was  very  visibly  fatigued,  the  operating  agency  manifested 
absolute  indifference  to  such  fatigue.  It  was  as  though 
Chappe  had  indeed  something  to  say  and  meant  to  say 
it.  The  messages  were  given  by  means  of  raps  without 
contact  to  begin  with,  but  in  order  to  diminish  the 
chances  of  fatigue  to  the  medium,  we  begged  him  to  use 
the  pencil  as  a  rapping  instrument.  The  light  was 
strong, — an  afternoon  summer  sunlight  shining  into  the 
room  ;  the  pencil  did  not  move  when  the  raps  were 
heard.  The  latter  were  given  with  force  and  without 
any  hesitation  ;  they  were  as  strong  at  the  end  of  the 
seance  as  at  the  beginning." 

(In  order  to  afford  the  reader  every  assistance  in  his 
appreciation  and  analysis  of  these  messages,  we  will  give 
them  in  the  original.) 

"  Chappe  gave  his  special  signal  intimating  he  was 
present. 

"  Observer  :   *  You  wish  to  speak  with  us,  Chappe  ? ' 

"  Chappe  :  '  Je  veux  demander  a  vos  amis  la  permis- 
sion de  vous  parler  de  ce  qui  vous  interesse.' 

"  Acting  on  the  advice  of  Chappe,  we  then  traced  the 
*  magic  circle  '  in  order  to  prevent,  as  Chappe  said,  the 
intervention  of  too  many  influences,  and  to  preserve 
purity  in  the  phenomena. 

"  Observer,  after  an  interval  of  ten  minutes :  '  Are 
you  ready,  Chappe  ?  ' 

z 


354        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

"  Much  confusion  in  the  raps,  and  impossibility  of 
obtaining  an  intelligent  answer ;  after  half  an  hour  of 
confusion  came  the  laboriously  spelt  out  message  :  — 

"  Chappe  :  *  Peut-etre  que  vous  etes  isoles.* 

"Observer:  *Why?' 

"  Chappe  :  *  Parce  que  vous  les  avez  renvoyes,  cercle 
magique/ 

"  We  were  led  to  understand  by  this  that  the  magic 
circle  had  had  too  good  an  effect,  and  prevented  even 
Chappe  from  communicating  with  his  companions.  Once 
more  we  followed  his  instructions,  inviting  our  '  friends  ' 
into  the  circle.  It  was  then  announced  that  Robert,  one 
of  Mrs.  Stephens's  deceased  relatives,  was  present  and 
wished  to  speak.  When  asked  what  he  had  to  say,  we 
received  : — 

"  Robert :  '  Bonnes  fees  qui  entourent  et  qui  m'em- 
pechent  de  vous  rejoindre.' 

"  We  begged  the  *  good  fairies '  to  be  so  kind  as  to 
allow  this  friend  to  communicate.  The  raps  indicated 
that  the  favour  was  accorded,  and  that  our  friend  could 
now  communicate  with  us. 

"Robert:    'vos  esp^rances  sont  revues  avec  joie 

PAR  TOUS.' 

"  Observer  :  *  What  do  you  mean  ^  Give  one  signi- 
ficative word.' 

"  Robert :     *  enfant    predestine:  X    faire    scienti- 

FIQUEMENT  DE   GRANDES  CHOSES.' 

"  Mrs.  Stephens  :  *  What  child  ? ' 
"  Robert :  '  Le  votre  ;  il  arrivera,  il  faut  etre  heureuse, 
vous  aurez  tant  de  bonheur.' 

"  Observer  :  '  Have  you  anything  more  to  say  ? ' 
"  Robert  :  *  Appelle  ton  enfant  Chetien  Alexandre/ 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     355 

"  Observer  :   *  Is  Chetien  Alexandre  correct  ? ' 

"  Robert  :  *  Alexandre  Chretien.'  ^ 

"  Observer  :  '  Can  you  predict  on  what  day  he  will  be 
born  ? ' 

"Robert:  *  Oui.     Epiphanie/ ^ 

"  Mrs.  Stephens  :  *  Do  you  know  who  the  child's 
guide  is  ? ' 

"Robert:  '  Oui.' 

"  Mrs.  Stephens  :  '  What  is  his  name  ?  * 

"  Robert  :  *  Reponse  plus  tard.' 

"  Observer  :  *  Have  you  anything  more  to  say  ^ ' 

"  Robert  :  *  Prudence.'  For  whom  .?  '  Marie '  (Mrs. 
Stephens).     '  Au  revoir.' 

"  At  the  end  of  the  above  seance  Dr.  Maxwell  handed 
Professor  Richet  the  automatic  script  he  had  received  in 
the  morning.  It  read  :  '.  .  .  (Mrs.  Stephens)  est  en 
voie  de  famille.  Elle  desire  aller  a  Biarritz  et  que  (the 
name  of  the  medium's  sister)  I'accompagne.  Mais  dites 
lui  d'aller  a  Bordeaux,  ou  elle  sera  mieux  soignee  et  ou 
les  influences  sont  bonnes.' 

"  A  few  days  after  the  above  messages  had  been  received, 
the  raps  again  signified  their  desire  to  communicate.  The 
following  conversation  then  took  place. 

"  Observer  :  *  Who  is  here  V 

''  Reply :    '  Robert.      Menagez    Marie.     Marie   .    .    . 

1  "The  medium  has  frequently  said  that  if  he  ever  had  a  son,  he  would  call 
him  Chretien.  The  name  Alexandre  was  also  constantly  on  our  lips,  for  two 
personifications,  who  frequently  claimed  to  be  communicating,  were  called 
Alexandre. 

2  "  Mrs.  Stephens  had  a  preference  for  the  Epiphany,  and  she  told  us,  after 
the  seance,  that  she  had  mentally  asked  her  child  might  be  bom  on  that  day — 
the  6th  of  January." — Note  by  Dr,  X. 


356        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Aesotheu  .  .  /  (change  of  tonality,  and  Chappe's  signal 
was  given). 

"  Chappe  :  *  Restez  un  moment  tranquille.  II  y  a 
trop  de  monde/ 

"  (Another  change  of  tonality  in  the  raps,  followed  by 
C.  R/s  signal — Professor  Richet's  grandfather.) 

"  C.  R.  *  Quelque  force  mauvaise  m'empeche  de  vous 
parler.'  (Confusion  for  some  time ;  raps  of  various 
tonalities  and  in  great  number  resound  on  the  woodwork 
of  the  foot  of  the  medium's  bed — we  were  holding  the 
seance  in  his  room  by  Chappe's  express  desire.) 

"  Chappe :  *  Je  ne  veux  pas  qu'on  se  serve  de  cette 
chambre.* 

"  Observer  :   '  Why  ? ' 

"  Chappe  :  *  Parce  que  Meurice  y  couche.' 

"  Observer  :  *  Where  shall  we  go  then  ?  * 

"  Chappe  :  '  Ou  vous  voudrez.' 

"  This  was  not  by  any  means  the  first  time  we  had  held 
a  seance  in  M.  Meurice's  room,  no  objection  had  ever 
been  made  to  this  proceeding  before,  which,  in  fact,  had 
been  recommended  by  Chappe. 

"  It  was  impossible  to  obtain  another  sign  of  any  nature 
whatsoever.  Professor  Richet,  Mrs.  Stephens,  and  I 
went  out  of  the  room,  leaving  Dr.  Maxwell  and  the 
medium  alone.  We  had  scarcely  left  when  the  latter, 
it  appears,  turned  to  Dr.  Maxwell  and  said :  '  I  see 
Professor  Richet  tearing  up  some  printed  matter  and 
burning  it.  I  think  it  is  the  bad  influence  Chappe  was 
speaking  about.' 

"  We  three  alone,  commenting  upon  these  messages, 
laid  stress  upon  the  excuse  of  *  bad  influences,'  and 
thought   it   was    probably   one   of    Chappe's   tricks   to 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     357 

avoid  working,  when  it  did  not  suit  him  to  work.  But 
suddenly  Professor  Richet  remembered  a  piece  of  news- 
paper which  he  had  put  into  his  inner  breast  coat-pocket 
early  that  same  morning,  and  on  which  was  the  name  of 
a  man  who  had  been  drowned  the  previous  week — 
drowned  before  our  eyes.  This  event  had  left  a  great 
impression  on  us  all,  every  one  had  made  strenuous 
efforts  to  save  the  man,  and  the  medium  in  particular 
had  striven  hard  to  restore  life.  Professor  Richet, 
coming  across  the  man*s  name  in  a  newspaper,  had  cut  it 
out,  and  put  the  slip  into  his  pocket-book,  for  reference 
sake,  incase  the  phenomena  should  turn  upon  the  drowned 
man.  No  one  was  near  or  could  possibly  have  seen 
Professor  Richet  do  this  ;  he  also  took  the  precaution  of 
destroying  the  paper  from  which  he  had  taken  the 
announcement. 

"  Now  Professor  Richet  took  the  cutting  out  of  his 
pocket-book,  tore  it  up  and  burnt  it  before  Mrs. 
Stephens  and  myself,  laughingly  saying  :  '  Let  us  see 
if  that  will  destroy  the  bad  influence.' 

"  It  was  not  till  some  hours  afterwards,  that  he  was 
told  of  what  M.  Meurice  had  said  relative  to  the 
*  burning  of  printed  matter,'  etc. 

"  The  next  day,  M.  Meurice  gave  a  fine  phenomenon 
of  attraction  in  presence  of  Professor  Richet  and  Dr. 
Maxwell.  It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  the 
two  latter  were  playing  chess  ;  M.  Meurice  was  lying 
on  the  floor  reading ;  a  fan  was  on  the  floor  near 
him.  He  said  :  '  I  begin  to  feel  the  cobwebby 
sensation  in  my  fingers  ;  let  us  see  if  I  can  attract  this 
fan.'     Dr.  Maxwell  and  Professor  Richet  left  the  table. 


2S^        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

and  knelt  down  on  the  floor  beside  M.  Meurice ;  the 
latter  proceeded,  first  of  all,  as  though  he  were 
enveloping  the  fan  with  something  ;  then,  meeting  his 
hands  at  the  finger-tips,  he  drew  them  back  very  slowly. 
When  his  fingers  were  about  six  inches  away  from  the 
fan,  the  latter  moved,  and  slowly  followed  his  fingers  for 
a  distance  of  five  inches.  Professor  Richet  and  Dr. 
Maxwell  assured  themselves  by  sight  and  touch,  that 
the  fan  was  not  normally  connected  with  the  medium. 
The  latter  had  a  violent  gastric  attack  immediately  after 
the  production  of  this  phenomenon. 

"  Professor  Richet's  birthday  occurred  during  these 
investigations,  and,  when  the  day  arrived,  we  ventured 
to  express  a  hope  that  he  might  be  favoured  with  some 
good  phenomena.  We  tried,  and  received  abundant 
signs  of  energy  in  the  shape  of  raps.  Chappe  was  asked 
if  he  had  not  something  to  say  or  offer  Professor  Richet 
as  a  birthday  present. 

"  Reply  :  *  Depuis  votre  naissance  vous  avez  grandi  ! 
Vous  aurez  des  communications  plus  interessantes,  que 
celles  que  vous  avez  revues.' 

**  At  this  point  some  one  asked  the  medium  if  he  felt 
tired,  and  Chappe  at  once  dictated : — 

*' '  II  faut  pour  un  moment  se  reposer  si  on  est  fatigue.' 
However,  no  notice  was  taken  of  this  advice. 

**  Prof.  R:  'Why  has  my  mother  never  communicated.'^ ' 

"  Chappe  :  *  Parce  que  vous  ne  Tavez  jamais  appelee.'  ^ 

"  Here  the  raps  indicate  that  *  C.  R.'  wishes  to  com- 
municate. 

1  "  True  J  but  then  neither  was  C.  R.  nor  Antoine  B.  nor  any  other  per- 
sonification ever  evoked." — Note  by  Dr.  X, 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     359 

''  C.  R.  (Prof.  Richet's  grandfather) :  *  Je  suis  tres 
content  d'etre  avec  vous/  Much  confusion  and  mean- 
ingless rapping.     '  Ici.' 

**  Chappe  :  '  G.  ne  vous  reverra  pas.' 

*'  Prof.  R. :  *  Can  you  tell  me  my  mother's  name  ?  * 

"  Chappe  :  *  Je  pourrai  le  dire  quand  je  le  saurai.' 

"  There  was  a  brief  silence,  during  which  Chappe  was 
supposed  to  be  asking  C.  R.  for  the  desired  name. 

"  Chappe  :  '  Ad^le.'  Wrong.  But  it  was  known  that 
this  was  a  family  name. 

"  C.  R.  :  *  Veux-tu  voir  ta  mere  ?  Fais  attention. 
Cette  nuit  elle  t'apparaitra  en  reve.'  This  promise  was 
not  fulfilled. 

*'  Prof.  R. :  '  Try  again  for  my  mother's  name.' 

"C.  R.  :  'A  —  o  —  a  —  m  —  e;  Marig  ;  Antoine  ; 
ther.' 

"  There  was  no  approach  to  the  desired  name.  There 
was  plenty  of  energy,  and  the  raps  flowed  quickly  and 
without  hesitation  in  certain  instances,  such  as  '  Veux-tu 
voir  ta  mere  ?  ' 

**  Chappe  :  '  Prudence.' 

'*  Observer:   'Why?' 

"  Observer  :  ^  Can  you  now  give  the  name  of  the 
child's  guide .? ' 

"  Chappe  :  *  Plus  tard.     Adieu.' 

"  The  communicating  intelligence  frequently  manifests 
— a  fact  which  was  particularly  noticeable  during  this 
series  of  experiments — a  supreme  indifference  to  scien- 
tific aspirations,  to  furnishing  proofs  of  identity  or  of 
any  desire  to  meet  the  investigator  halfway,  and  help 
him  in  his  researches. 

"  Since  the  communications  concerning  Mrs.  Stephens 


36o        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

had  been  received,  whenever  it  was  intimated  that  *  they  ' 
had  something  to  say,  that  something  was  generally  the 
word  *  Prudence '  or  terms  of  a  like  signification. 

"  The  agency  at  work  allowed  it  to  be  clearly  seen 
that — for  the  time  being  at  least — it  interested  itself  in 
no  one  save  in  Mrs.  Stephens.  This  solicitude  was 
continued  up  to  the  last  ;  time  after  time  the  word 
*  Prudence  *  was  uttered,  so  often  in  fact  as  to  lose  all 
meaning  from  sheer  force  of  repetition ;  and  no  out-of- 
the-way  heed  was  taken  of  the  advice. 

"  This  series  of  experiments  came  to  an  end. 

"  Mrs.  Stephens  took  a  villa  on  the  outskirts  of 
Bordeaux,  where  the  medium's  sister  joined  her. 

"  It  appears  that  Mrs.  Stephens  looked  forward  with 
unusual  joy  to  the  coming  event,  and  was  much  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  a  wet  nurse.  I  was  now  at  Bordeaux  ;  I 
often  saw  Mrs.  Stephens,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that 
M.  Meurice,  like  myself,  knew  of  Mrs.  Stephens's  very 
legitimate  desire.  Now  Chappe  had,  for  some  time, 
given  no  sign  of  his  presence  ;  but  one  day,  when  M. 
Meurice,  Mrs.  S.,  and  I  were  out  walking,  sharp  raps 
suddenly  resounded  on  the  medium's  walking-stick. 
Mrs.  S.  begged  him  to  touch  the  handle  of  her  umbrella — 
which  was  open  ;  raps  were  then  given  on  the  outstretched 
silk.  With  loud  decided  raps,  Chappe  quickly  dictated  : 
'  Retenez  bien  ceci,  il  ne  faut  pas  laisser  Marie  allaiter.' 
We  asked  the  wherefore,  but  the  silence  was  com- 
plete ;  do  what  we  would,  not  another  rap  could  be 
obtained. 

"  On  another  occasion,  when  raps  were  forthcoming, 
we  asked  Chappe  for  a  word  which  would  portray  the 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     361 

state  of  mind  of  those  present,  and  received  the  very- 
appropriate  reply  :  '  Paix  absolue.'  This  message  was 
given  on  the  silk  of  the  open  umbrella,  M.  Meurice 
lightly  touching  the  handle  only. 

"  As  the  6th  of  January  drew  near,  Chappe  began  to 
get  nervous  about  the  fate  of  the  prediction,  and,  by 
means  of  automatic  writing,  he  indicated  that  we  were 
to  remember,  that  it  was  not  he,  but  Robert,  who  had 
predicted  that  the  birth  would  take  place  on  the  6th 
January.  Thereupon,  he  added  that  the  event  would 
not  occur  before  the  15th  of  January — that  it  would 
take  place  on  the  night  of  the  14th- 15  th  January. 
During  the  last  fortnight  this  was  often  referred  to  by 
Chappe,  by  means  of  automatic  writing — which  perhaps 
gives  more  scope  for  the  play  of  the  subliminal.  Chappe 
washed  his  hands,  so  to  say,  of  Robert  and  his 
doings. 

"  Towards  the  20th  of  December,  Mrs.  Stephens 
received  news  that  her  husband  was  on  his  way  home, 
but  was  feeling  rather  unwell.  In  the  letter,  the  word 
'  nephrite '  was  made  use  of.  Mrs.  S.  did  not  mention 
this  to  any  one  ;  she  said,  however,  that  her  husband 
had  a  slight  kidney  worry.  The  next  day,  the  following 
communication,  bearing  upon  Mr.  S.'s  anticipated  arrival 
in  Bordeaux,  was  received  from  Chappe  by  raps  through 
the  pencil : — 

"  *  II  faut  que  vous  Tempechiez  de  se  mettre  en  route 
pour  Bordeaux.' 

"  Why  ?  '  Maladie  serleuse  s'il  avait  froid.'  What  is 
he  suffering  from  }  '  Nephrite.  Recommandez  repos 
absolu;  bonsoir.* 

"  On  another  occasion,   always  referring  to  the  same 


362        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

subject,  Mr.  S.'s  indisposition,  Chappe  said  :  *  Pas  sage 
de  faire  le  trajet  de  Londres  a  Bordeaux.  Rassurez- 
vous.     Maladie  pas  grave/ 

*' The  child — a  boy — was  born  at  2.15  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  5  th  January,  that  is,  on  the  eve  of  the 
Epiphany — and  not  on  the  Epiphany  as  was  predicted 

(page  3SSV 

"  Mrs.  Stephens  desired  to  add  the  name  of  Quentin  to 
the  names  of  Alexandre  Chretien.  I  happened  to  mention 
this  to  M.  Meurice,  and  by  so  doing  awakened  Chappe 
and  a  salvo  of  raps.  He  would  not  say  what  he  wanted, 
and  M.  Meurice  remarked  :  '  We  are  to  go  into  Mrs. 
Stephens's  bedroom.'  We  were  admitted.  M.  Meurice 
stood  near  the  head  of  the  bed,  but  did  not  touch  it. 
The  raps  resounded  on  the  wood  of  the  bed.  Chappe 
dictated  :  *  11  ne  faut  pas  appeler  Quentin.'  The  force 
was  abundant,  and  this  message  had  been  given  quickly 
and  with  decision  ;  yet,  when  we  asked  why  the  child 
should  not  be  called  Quentin,  we  could  get  no  reply. 
It  was  for  all  the  world  as  though  a  distinct  intelligence 
was  behind  those  raps,  one,  who,  like  ourselves,  knew, 
on  occasion,  how  to  say  :  '  I  have  said ;  let  that 
suffice.' 

'*  For  a  week,  all  went  well  with  mother  and  child. 
Seven  days  after  the  child's  birth,  Mrs.  Stephens  was 
seized  with  a  violent  and  inexplicable  fever.  The  follow- 
ing day,  a  thoughtless  servant  handed  her  a  telegram  ; 

^  "  On  the  4th  January,  Mrs.  Stephens  was  particularly  anxious  about  her 
husband,  and  insisted  on  driving  into  Bordeaux  and  personally  sending  him 
a  telegram.  Without  a  doubt,  the  anxiety  and  physical  restlessness  of  the 
previous  few  days  hastened  the  event." — Note  by  Dr.  X. 


RECENT  PSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA     :^e2, 

the  telegram  announced  the  death  of  her  husband.  The 
fever  regained  possession,  and  Mrs.  Stephens  died  the 
same  night. 

"  Perhaps  in  conclusion,  and  as  our  only  comment  on 
this  history,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  recall  to  mind 
Chappe's  oft-repeated  word,  '  Prudence.' " 

And  now,  lest  in  the  relation  of  the  foregoing 
experiences,  say  rather  in  this  simple  registration  of  a 
few  ascertained  facts,  we  be  reproached  for  a  language 
which  carries  associations  from  which  certain  minds  of 
a  scientific  bent  may  shrink,  may  we  be  permitted  to  say 
that  there  is  more  appearance  than  reality  in  our  back- 
sliding— if  backshding  there  be.  We  have  given  an 
exposition  of  facts,  touching  upon  unknown  forces 
and  arduous  problems  ;  the  magnitude  and  complexity 
of  which  we  realise  but  too  deeply — problems  which 
cannot  be  solved  by  academic  methods.  Time  and 
patient  constancy  of  research  are  needed  to  bring  them 
to  a  successful  issue. 


364       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


CHAPTER   VII 

FRAUD   AND    ERROR 

This  work  would  be  incomplete,  if  I  did  not  carefully 
examine  fraud  and  errors  of  observation.  The  first 
should  always  be  considered  as  possible.  Errors  of 
observation  are  even  more  numerous  than  fraud,  and 
their  sources  are  manifold.  We  should  study  them, 
learn  their  causes,  and  suspect  them  until  the  contrary 
has  been  proved. 

I.  .FRAUD 

Fraud  can  be  conscious,  unconscious,  or  mixed.  I 
have  no  need  to  say  how  frequent  the  first  is,  especially 
with  paid  mediums.  Spiritistic  reviews,  notably  the 
Revue  Spirite,  Revue  Morale  et  Scientifique  du  Spiritisme, 
Light,  Psychische  Studien,  give  many  examples  of  fraud 
discovered  by  spiritists  themselves.  Unconscious  fraud 
is  no  less  common  than  conscious  fraud  ;  as  for  the 
third,  mixed  fraud,  this  is  also  very  often  observed. 

Conscious  fraud. — (a)  Raps.  Nothing  is  easier  to 
imitate.  I  have  indicated  the  diverse  ways  of  repro- 
ducing them  artificially  :  gliding  the  finger  or  nail  along 
the  top  of  the  table,  with  or  without  the  help  of  resin ; 
rapping  with  the  feet;  gliding  the  foot  or  dress — 
especially   silk   dresses — against  the  legs    of  table,   etc. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  365 

These  diverse  movements  imitate  feeble  raps  to  per- 
fection, if  they  be  slowly  made.  For  that  reason  I  have 
always  refused  to  consider  raps  as  convincing  when 
produced  with  any  contact  whatever.  Consequently  I 
exclude  raps  produced  on  the  floor  from  those  phenomena 
which  have  determined  my  conviction.  Certain  persons 
seem  to  be  able  to  move  their  tendons  at  will,  even 
making  a  considerable  noise  in  that  way.  I  observed 
this  with  a  medical  student  who,  by  resting  his  elbow 
on  the  table,  produced  very  sonorous  raps  ;  but  the 
movement  of  his  arm  was  easily  seen.  I  know  another 
person  who  could  crack  his  joints  at  will. 

The  play  of  the  knee-joint  has  been  especially  in- 
criminated by  Mrs.  Sidgwick  in  her  article  ^The 
Physical  Phenomena  of  Spiritualism '  {Proceedings  of  the 
S.P.R,  xiii.  45).  She  recalls  to  mind  the  interpretations 
given  by  Drs.  Lee,  Flint,  and  Coventry,  who  observed 
Mrs.  Kane  and  Mrs.  Underbill,  two  of  the  famous  Fox 
sisters.  Mrs.  Sidgwick  experimented  with  the  third 
sister,  Mrs.  Jencken,  and  accepted  the  explanation  of  the 
American  doctors.  For  them,  the  double  raps  were 
produced  by  a  rapid  movement  of  dislocation  and 
readjustment  of  the  knee.  By  placing  in  such  a  position 
as  to  render  that  voluntary  dislocation  impossible,  e.g.  by 
making  the  medium  sit  down  with  outstretched  legs 
and  heels  resting  on  a  soft  cushion,  no  raps  were  forth- 
coming. It  is  possible  that  the  explanation  of  the 
American  doctors  may  be  true  concerning  the  case 
examined  by  them.  In  those  which  I  have  studied,  it  is 
certainly  not  acceptable.  I  have  obtained  raps  on  a 
table  without  any  kind  of  contact  whatsoever.  I  have 
obtained  them  on  the  floor,  by  placing  the  medium  in 


366        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

positions  which  excluded  the  play  of  articulation.  The 
kind  of  fraud  in  question  was  not  therefore  in  operation. 
I  have  even  made  some  mediums  sit  on  my  knees  when 
raps  were  forthcoming  ;  I  then  made  sure  the  raps  were 
produced  on  the  table,  and  that  the  latter  was  not 
touched.  My  conclusion  as  to  the  reality  of  the  pheno- 
menon of  raps  is  the  result  of  nearly  two  hundred 
observations. 

In  obscurity,  the  means  of  cheating  are  unimaginable. 
I  saw  a  young  medium,  who  had  succeeded  in  concealing 
a  stick,  simulate  raps  on  the  ceiling  with  it.  I  have 
known  two  others  hit  the  table  with  their  fists,  kick  it 
with  their  feet,  etc.  Everything  is  possible  in  darkness, 
and  with  certain  confiding  observers. 

{}?)  Parakinesis^  or  abnormal  movements  of  objects 
with  contact.  I  have  often  said  that  all  movements 
with  contact — except  certain  levitations  which  are,  how- 
ever, difficult  to  observe  with  precision — are  worthless. 
I  have  indicated  the  chief  ways  of  simulating  levitations, 
either  by  the  hands,  the  feet  or  the  knees.  I  will  not 
revert  to  this. 

These  methods  are  difficult  in  full  light,  but  when 
the  experimenters  are  placed  in  such  a  position  as  to  be 
unable  to  keep  a  reciprocal  watch  over  the  feet,  the 
second  method  is  still  easily  brought  into  play. 

{c)  'Telekinesis. — Fraud  is  more  difficult  to  perpetrate 
here.  A  connecting  link  of  some  kind  or  other  would 
be  required  to  move  objects  possessing  a  certain  weight 
and  bulk.  I  look  upon  this  phenomenon  as  most 
convincing,  when  it  is  obtained  in  full  light ;  in  obscurity, 
it  is  to  a  certain  extent  unverifiable. 

{d)  Luminous  phenomena  are  easily  simulated ;    phos- 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  367 

phorescent  oil  and  certain  sulphides  give  excellent  imi- 
tations of  hands  and  forms.  I  have  seen  a  photograph 
taken  by  magnesian  light  in  a  seance  for  materialisation. 
The  medium,  by  way  of  imitating  a  materialised  garment 
of  some  kind,  had  wound  a  white  cloth  around  his  neck, 
and  moreover  wore  a  false  beard.  Those  present  at  this 
seance  will  not  admit  they  were  cheated.  One  of  the 
sitters,  a  friend  of  mine,  one  familiar  with  psychical 
matters,  but  too  honest  himself  to  suspect  fraud  in 
others,  did  not  think  my  judgment  in  this  case  was 
correct.  It  was  necessary  to  have  it  confirmed  by  the 
celebrated  Papus ! 

As  for  the  phenomenon  of  attouchements^  this  is  of  all 
phenomena  the  most  easily  simulated  in  obscurity. 

Every  one  knows  the  role  played  by  dolls,  disguises 
and  confederates  in  seances  for  materialisation.  The 
trickster's  imagination  is  of  inconceivable  fertility.  The 
recent  Rothe  trial  gives  us  a  fresh  example  of  this. 

{e)  Motor  and  sensory  automatisms  can  be  imitated 
with  extreme  facility,  and  their  efficacious  control  is 
impossible.  A  careful  analysis  of  the  messages  is 
necessary  in  order  to  appreciate  their  value.  On  the 
other  hand,  well-observed  premonitions  are  of  immense 
importance. 

From  the  preceding,  we  see  that  all  psychical  pheno- 
mena can  be  simulated  ;  this  does  not  mean  that  every 
psychical  phenomenon  is  simulated.  Those  who  wish  to 
explain  away  everything  by  fraud  make  as  great  a 
mistake,  as  those  who  trustingly  accept  everything  with- 
out control. 

There  is  an  important  general  observation  to  be  made 
concerning  the  phenomena  I  am  treating  in  this  book. 


368        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

It  is  of  historical  order,  but  nevertheless  it  gives  a  much 
wider  signification  to  these  facts  than  is  usually  accorded 
them.  Many  writers,  Janet  among  them,  imagine  that 
spiritistic  phenomena,  as  they  call  them,  date  from  the 
celebrated  events  of  Rochester,  about  the  year  1847, 
where  the  Fox  sisters  were  the  objects  of  diverse  mani- 
festations. But  in  reality  these  facts  date  much  further 
back.  One  of  the  best  observed  cases  is  the  one  spoken 
of  by  Dr.  Kerner  in  his  book  Die  Seherin  von  Prevorst, 
which  has  been  translated  by  Dr.  Dusart  into  French, 
probably  from  Mrs.  Crowe's  English  translation. 
Kerner  observed  raps  and  movements  without  contact 
from  the  year  1827,  when  he  had  Madame  Hauff  staying 
in  his  house. 

Phenomenon  of  the  same  kind  are  to  be  met  with  in 
accounts  of  haunted  houses.  There  are  stories  of  this 
kind  dating  from  remote  epochs,  and  diverse  decrees  of 
parliament  exist  cancelling  leases  for  this  cause.  These 
phenomena  were  criticised  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

It  is  only  the  metaphysical  system  founded  upon  these 
facts  which  is  new.  It  is  in  that,  and  in  that  only,  that 
spiritism  or  spiritualism  consists.  It  Is  undeniable  that 
the  doctrine  embodying  the  essence  of  these  teachings 
has  attained  a  considerable  extension.  I  pointed  out  the 
radical  differences  existing  between  the  beliefs  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  spiritists  and  those  of  spiritists  of  other  nationalities, 
particularly  in  that  which  concerns  reincarnation.  I  will 
not  go  back  to  this  ;  but  in  order  to  specify  the  point  in 
question,  I  will  recall  to  mind  that  the  only  new  pheno- 
mena which  spiritistic  forms  of  contemporary  mysticism 
offer,  are  their  constitution   into    a    body  of  religious 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  369 

doctrines  and  their  rapid  extension.  These  phenomena 
are  of  sociological,  not  biological  order.  The  facts  upon 
which  they  are  based  belong,  on  the  contrary,  to  biology. 

Further,  it  is  not  absolutely  true  to  say,  that  the  meta- 
physical theories  established  upon  the  revelations  of 
spirits  are  new.  The  life  of  some  of  the  '  saints '  in  the 
Roman  Church  offers  us  several  examples,  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  being  the  devotion  to  the  Sacre  Cceur  de 
Jesus ^  a  special  kind  of  worship  based  upon  revelations 
claimed  to  have  been  accorded  to  a  nun  named  Marie 
Alacoque,  who  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Monastic 
life  has  not  the  monopoly  of  such  experiences.  Commerce 
with  spirits  appears  to  be  likewise  one  of  the  elements 
of  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Shakers  ;  even  the 
Mormons  seem  to  indulge  in  practices  similar  to  those 
of  spiritism  ;  Jerome  Cardan,  John  Dee,  Martinez  de 
Pasqually  pass  for  having  held  intercourse  with  im- 
material beings  ;  members  of  the  order  of  the  Red  Cross 
have  also  been  looked  upon  as  holding  frequent  inter- 
course with  diverse  genii.  If  we  study  the  history  of 
human  thought,  we  see  that  nothing  is  really  new,  nothing 
save  perhaps  the  contemporary  extension  of  spiritism. 
From  many  points  of  view,  spiritism  appears  to  play  a 
role  in  the  civilised,  sceptical,  material  society  of  to-day, 
analogous  to  the  simple  role  which  Christianity  played  in 
the  second  and  third  centuries  of  our  era. 

But  this  is  a  sociological  problem  ;  its  examination, 
however  interesting  it  may  be,  would  lead  me  beyond 
the  limits  I  have  traced  for  myself.  I  will  confine 
myself,  therefore,  to  drawing  from  the  brief  historical 
account  I  have  just  given,  the  conclusion  it  admits  of. 
The  facts  studied  by  Janet  and  others  are  anterior   to 

2  A 


370       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

spiritism,  and  cannot  be  legitimately  designated  by  this 
name.  I  have  already  indicated  that  this  word  expresses 
an  ensemble  of  metaphysical  and  religious  doctrines 
explaining  psychical  phenomena  by  the  intervention  of 
spirits,  and  drawing  their  teachings  from  the  revelations 
attributed  to  these  same  spirits.  It  is  terminologically 
incorrect  to  designate  these  facts  by  a  word  which  has  a 
wider  signification,  since  it  expresses  an  explanatory 
hypothesis  of  these  same  facts. 

Custom  has  consecrated  the  word  '  psychical '  facts  or 
phenomena  :  this  term  is  also  imperfect,  and  it  seems  to 
me  preferable  to  adopt  the  new  term  Metapsychical  which 
Richet  recommends. 

Therefore,  in  the  actual  state  of  research,  the  scientific 
problem,  it  seems  to  me,  is  not  whether  spiritism  be  true 
or  false,  but  whether  metapsychical  phenomena  be  real 
or  imaginary. 

As  Richet  and  Ochorowicz  have  said,  every  medium 
may  defraud,  and  the  analysis  of  fraud  is  one  of  the  most 
complicated  problems  which  the  study  of  psychical 
phenomena  presents.  It  is  also  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing. The  Cambridge  ^  experiments  with  Eusapia  Paladino 
put  clearly  before  us  the  question  of  fraud  and  its  signifi- 
cation. 

Before  entering  upon  the  psychological  examination  of 
fraud,  it  appears  to  me  necessary  to  explain  the  significa- 
tion of  the  terms  I  am  going  to  use,  and  after  that  to 
classify  medianic  phenomena. 

It  is  of  primary  importance  to  determine  the  correct 
signification  of  the  expression  consciousness}     There  are 

1  See  Appendix  B. 

^  The  French  have  but  one  word  to  express  what  is  meant  in  English  by 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  371 

few  words  in  philosophical  language  which  have  such 
diverse  acceptations.  As  my  conception  of  consciousness 
is  somewhat  special  without  at  the  same  time  being 
peculiar  to  me,  I  owe  it  to  my  readers  to  say  what  I  mean 
to  designate  by  this  term. 

I  conceive  consciousness,  lato  sensu,  as  a  function  of 
living  matter.  It  is  the  particular  state  which  determines 
in  organised  and  living  matter  another  state  of  the  centre 
where  this  matter  lives.  It  is,  if  you  like,  a  kind  of 
reaction  of  the  living  matter  in  harmony  with  external 
phenomena.  This  mode  of  reaction,  like  every  other 
mode  of  reaction,  allows  of  two  conditions  :  some  sort 
of  sensibility  to  the  action  of  the  ambient,  permitting 
variations  thereof  to  be  felt  ;  some  sort  of  activity  which 
permits  of  realising  an  adaptation  to  the  ambient,  and  of 
producing  internal  modifications  corresponding,  in  some 
measure,  to  the  perceived  external  modifications.  In 
order  that  the  internal  modifications  may  realise  this 
equilibrium,  they  must  not  go  beyond  a  certain  ampli- 
tude, whence  the  theoretic  necessity  for  the  sensibility  to 
be  always  apprised  of  the  internal  modifications  of  the 
living  substance,  as  it  perceives  the  external  modifications 
of  the  ambient. 

Experience  proves  that  in  reality  things  do  happen  in 
this  way.  In  fact,  we  are  able  in  the  animal  kingdom  to 
prove  the  existence  of  special  organs,  some  of  them 
destined  to  the  perception  of  the  successive  states  of  the 
ambient  and  of  the  individual,  the  others  to  the  active 


the  word  Conscience  (i.e.  the  principle  which  decides  on  the  lawfulness  or 
unlawfulness  of  our  actions  or  desires),  and  the  word  Consciousness  (i.e.  the 
being  aware,  the  knowing  of  one's  own  thoughts).  Nevertheless  we  consider 
this  chapter  could  ill  spare  this  masterly  synthesis. — Note  of  Translator. 


372        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

realisation  of  the  latter  to  the  former.  The  different 
modifications  provoked  in  the  receptive  system  by  the 
variations  of  the  ambient,  determine  in  their  turn  the 
intervention  of  the  active  system  which  realises  the 
internal  variations.  This  is  the  principle  of  the  nervous 
and  muscular  systems,  the  latter  being  only  put  into  play 
by  the  former  ;  natural  history  shows  us  the  progressive 
specialisation  of  these  nervous  and  muscular  elements. 
At  first  non-differentiated  in  appearance,  the  animal  cell 
presents  in  more  complicated  animals  a  sensitive  pole  and 
an  active  pole,  the  one  nervous,  the  other  muscular. 
The  myo-epithelial  or  neuro-muscular  cells  offer  us  a 
classical  example  in  the  hydra. 

The  examination  of  the  development  of  the  nervous 
system  and  of  the  muscular  system  in  the  vertebrata  shows 
us  their  growing  specialisation.  The  nervous  cells  are 
associated  in  systems  more  or  less  dependent  the  one 
upon  the  other  ;  the  muscular  cells  are  accumulated  into 
masses.  This  is  the  application  of  that  law  of  the 
division  of  labour,  the  constant  operation  of  which  we 
observe  in  all  the  phenomena  of  life.  The  nervous  cells 
are  grouped  together  in  a  heap,  in  a  nucleus,  and  send 
their  prolongations  to  the  periphery  or  to  the  organs. 
These  prolongations  are  of  two  kinds  :  some  transmit 
impressions  towards  the  cell  (dendrites  prolongations), 
others  transmit  excitations  proceeding  from  the  cell 
(cylindraxes  prolongations).'^  The  centres  themselves 
are  hierarchised,  so  to  speak,  and  are  divided  into  two 
wide  categories  :   the  first  destined  to  the  functions  of 

1  Dendrites^  nerves  conducting  the  influx  towards  the  centre  of  the  cell. 
Cylindraxes  J  nerves  conducting  from  the   cell    towards   the   periphery   or 
towards  another  cell. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  373 

organic  life,  circulation,  secretions,  digestion,  etc.  ;  the 
second  to  those  of  the  life  of  relation.  These  two  cate- 
gories include  the  sensitive  cells  and  the  motor  cells  ;  the 
one  transmits  to  the  other  the  stimulus  born  of  excita- 
tions provoked  by  the  internal  or  external  centres. 

In  superior  animals,  at  any  rate  in  man,  we  observe 
that  the  activity  of  certain  nervous  centres  is  accompanied 
by  a  particular  phenomenon,  which  is  designated  under 
the  name  of  ^^rj^»^/ consciousness.  It  is  the  notion  we 
have  that  the  phenomenon  is  perceived  by  us,  that  the 
movement  executed  is  executed  by  us. 

Personal  consciousness  does  not  accompany  all  per- 
ceived phenomena,  nor  all  executed  movements.  Certain 
given  conditions  of  diverse  orders  appear  necessary,  for 
the  consciousness  to  become  aware  of  these  phenomena. 
This  conscious  consciousness  is  translated  by  the  connec- 
tion of  the  impression  or  of  the  movement  with  a 
personality. 

This  personality  looks  to  us  as  though  it  were  con- 
tinuous. It  is  around  it  that  our  past  impressions 
are  grouped  in  the  form  of  souvenirs.  It  is  that  which 
continues  the  ^  self.' 

The  consciousness  I  have  just  described  is  what  I  call 
the  personal  consciousness.  The  notion  of  personality 
which  characterises  it  is  not  invariable,  and  is  not  necessary. 
It  is  not  invariable,  because  the  study  of  morbid 
psychology  reveals  to  us  that  different  personalities  can 
succeed  one  another  in  the  same  individual,  or  even 
appear  to  be  concomitant.  This  is  notably  the  case  with 
secondary  personalities  in  hysteria  or  in  epilepsy. 

It  is  not  necessary,  for  diverse  phenomena  can  be 
perceived    and   stored  up   in  the   memory  without   the 


374        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

personal  consciousness  being  conscious  thereof;  in  the 
same  way,  movements  adapted  to  a  certain  purpose  may 
be  executed  without  the  personal  consciousness  being 
warned  thereof:  such  are  notably  the  reflex  and 
complicated  movements,  which  custom  has  rendered 
automatic. 

The  result  of  these  facts  is  that  the  personal  con- 
sciousness is  manifested  as  a  limitation  of  the  general 
consciousness,  of  what  I  will  simply  call  the  consciousness. 
The  study  of  the  alterations  of  memory  notably — diverse 
amnesiae,  hypermnesiae,  paramnesias — shows  us  that  those 
souvenirs  of  which  the  general  and  impersonal  conscious- 
ness has  the  free  disposition  are  incomparably  more 
numerous  than  those  at  the  disposal  of  the  personal 
consciousness.  This  is  incontestable  as  far  as  memory 
is  concerned  ;  is  it  so  with  intelligence }  It  is  hard  to 
say ;  there  are,  however,  numerous  examples  of  problems 
solved  and  of  work  accomplished  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  personal  consciousness. 

Anatomy  and  physiology  inform  us,  that  personal  con- 
sciousness is  manifested  in  phenomena,  which  appear  to 
have  their  seat  in  certain  regions  on  the  surface  of  the 
cerebral  hemispheres.  The  cortical  region  seems  to  be 
appropriated,  at  least  in  part,  by  psychological  phenomena, 
of  which  personality  is  the  centre,  active  memory,  atten- 
tion, judgment,  abstraction,  will.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  this  region  is  called  '  the  superior  centres.*  Under- 
neath this  region  the  cerebral  sub-cortical  ganglions,  the 
bulbous  and  medullary  nuclei,  the  sympathetic  gang- 
lions, and  the  plexus  constitute  the  inferior  centres  which 
preside  over  certain  functions  foreign  to  the  personal 
consciousness. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  375 

However,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  the  activity 
of  the  cortical  centres  is  always  perceived  by  the  personal 
consciousness.  That  of  the  motor  centres,  for  example, 
may  exist  unknown  to  the  personal  consciousness.  I  have 
already  given  the  indication  of  certain  complicated  move- 
ments which  can  be  voluntary  and  personally  conscious 
in  the  beginning,  and  become,  in  the  end,  unconscious 
and  yet  voluntary ;  e.g.  the  playing  of  a  musical  instru- 
ment. Likewise,  certain  involuntary  movements  can 
sometimes  be  perceived  by  the  personal  consciousness  ; 
e.g.  the  rapid  movement  we  make  in  chasing  away  a  fly 
which  is  worrying  us.  If  the  centre  motors  of  the  arm 
which  drives  away  the  fly  be  sub-cortical  or  medullary, 
it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the  movements  executed, 
even  when  they  appear  to  be  pure  reflex  movements,  can 
sometimes  be  perceived. 

Movements  executed  without  the  participation  of  the 
personal  consciousness  and  will  are  called  automatic. 
This  expression  signifies  for  me,  that  the  voluntary 
activity  of  the  personality  remains  foreign  to  the  move- 
ment executed. 

Therefore,  in  the  motor  sphere,  that  is  to  say  in  move- 
ments, we  may  have  different  relations  between  the 
movement  executed  and  the  personal  consciousness.  We 
have,  first  of  all,  conscious  and  voluntary  movements  ; 
then  involuntary  or  impulsive  movements,  perceived  or 
unperceived  by  the  personal  consciousness. 

These  diverse  movements  are  normal :  that  is  to  say, 
they  are  executed  according  to  the  recognised  rules  of 
muscular  activity  ;  they  do  not  go  beyond  the  peripheral 
limit  of  the  body  ;  the  nervous  influx  is  difl^used  along 
the  nerves  in  the  ordinary  manner. 


376        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

If  the  nervous  influx,  or  more  correctly  speaking,  the 
mode  of  energy  which  constitutes  it,  goes  beyond  the 
material  limits  of  the  body,  we  have  phenomena  desig- 
nated by  de  Rochas  under  the  name  of  exteriorisation  de 
la  motricite.  These  are  again  automatic  phenomena  for 
me,  since  the  personal  consciousness  and  the  will  do  not 
participate  in  them.  But  they  present  a  feature  which 
distinguishes  them  from  normal  automatisms  :  they  are 
exosomatic^  if  I  may  use  that  expression,  while  the  others 
are  endosomatic.  These  two  expressions  signify  for  me, 
the  one  exosomatic,  that  the  movements  are  produced 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  body  ;  the  other  endosomatic, 
that  they  are  produced  within  the  limits  of  the  body, 
that  is  to  say  by  muscular  activity  acting  physiologically. 
The  first,  which  are  apparently  contrary  to  the  ordinary 
data  of  experience,  are  paranormal  phenomena,  that  is  to 
say,  outside  the  usual  rule  ;  the  second,  on  the  contrary, 
are  normal.  Parakinesis  is  a  paranormal  movement  with 
contact ;  telekinesis  is  a  paranormal  movement  without 
contact. 

Sensibility  presents  the  same  categories  of  facts. 
Properly  speaking  there  is  no  veritable  automatism  in 
phenomena  of  sensitivity  ;  but  we  can  nevertheless  dis- 
tinguish therein,  first,  normal  sensitive  phenomena — that 
is  to  say,  phenomena  produced  under  physiological  con- 
ditions, more  or  less  well-known,  but  frequent,  such  as 
hallucinations,  hypermnesiae ;  and  second,  paranormal 
phenomena,  that  is  to  say,  phenomena  which  imply  the 
existence  of  modes  of  perception  to  which  the  normal 
personality  is  foreign — clairvoyance,  clairaudience,  tele- 
aesthesia,  telepathy  (Myers,  Gurney,  Podmore),  exteriori- 
sation of  motor  power  (de  Rochas). 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  377 

I  have  already  indicated  that  these  perceptions  appear 
to  depend  upon  the  impersonal  consciousness,  and  that 
the  impressions  thus  perceived  are  transmitted  to  the 
personal  consciousness  in  a  given  form  analogous  to  that 
of  dream  perceptions — that  is  to  say,  in  a  dramatic  form, 
with  a  concrete  and  symbolical  setting.  The  impersonal 
consciousness  seems,  therefore,  to  be  affected  in  a  vague, 
general  manner  :  the  perceptions  only  assume  an  appear- 
ance of  precision  in  those  strata  of  the  consciousness, 
where  the  notion  of  personality  is  determined.  Hence 
the  following  conclusions,  which  I  only  give  as  proba- 
bilities :  (i)  that  the  notion  of  personality  is  susceptible 
of  diverse  degrees  ;  (2)  that  the  impressions  perceived  by 
the  general  consciousness  are  agreeable  or  disagreeable — 
that  is  to  say,  only  impart  to  the  personal  consciousness 
a  very  vague  message,  moral  comfort  or  indefinable  dis- 
comfort ;  that,  in  rarer  cases,  the  transmitted  message  is 
more  precise,  and  takes  the  form  of  a  detailed  hallucina- 
tion ;  (3)  that,  if  telepathy  exists,  the  general  conscious- 
ness is  capable  of  being  affected  by  channels  other  than 
those  of  the  ordinary  senses,  which  have  only  a  value  in 
ratio  to  the  personal  consciousness  of  which  they  are, 
perhaps,  the  condition. 

This  last  consideration  brings  us  back  to  the  definition 
which  I  gave  a  little  while  ago  of  consciousness,  which 
is,  for  me,  the  common  property  of  all  living  matter  : 
its  sensuality  is  limited  and  specified  by  the  senses,  is 
limited  and  specified  by  the  personality  and  the  will. 

I  beg  the  reader  to  excuse  me  for  having  entered  into 
these  explanations.  I  wished,  as  I  said  before,  to  state 
as  clearly  as  possible  the  meanings  I  attach  to  the  terms 
I  use  ;  I  have  still  another  task  to  accomplish  somewhat 


378        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

similar  to  the  last :  which  is  to  classify  medianic  pheno- 
mena before  studying  their  relations  with  fraud.  In  the 
first  place  I  divide  them  into  two  wide  categories,  each 
capable  of  penetrating  into  the  other,  for,  with  the 
exception  of  luminosities,  physical  phenomena  are  rarely 
devoid  of  all  meaning,  and  intellectual  phenomena  have 
always  some  fact  of  a  physical  nature  as  substratum. 
Therefore,  these  two  categories  are  two  different  aspects 
of  the  same  phenomena  rather  than  two  distinct  cate- 
gories. 

If  we  consider  the  purely  physical  side,  we  have  the 
following  approximate  series  : — 


PHYSICAL    PHENOMENA 

Sonorous, — Raps  ;  diverse  noises. 

Motor,  —  Normal  ;  paranormal  ;  parakinesis  ;  tele- 
kinesis. 

Luminous. — Amorphous  ;  definite  forms  ;  psychic  Q) 
photography. 

If  we  consider  the  form  of  communications,  in  appear- 
ance intelligent,  by  adhering  to  the  mode  of  expression 
of  the  intellectual  sense  of  the  phenomena,  we  have  the 
following  classification  : — 

INTELLECTUAL    PHENOMENA  '.     ENDOSOMATIC 
AUTOMATISM 

Muscular. — Typtology  ;  grammatology  ;  automatic 
script ;  automatic  speaking. 

Sensorial. — Visual,  auditory,  tactile,  gustatory,  olfactory 
phenomena. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR 


379 


Vaso-Motor. — Secretory  phenomena  ;  vascular  pheno- 
mena ;  perspirations,  etc. 


EXOSOMATIC    AUTOMATISM 

{Exteriorisations)  :  Motor.  — Telekinesis  ;  psychography 
(direct  writing)  ;  psychophony  (direct  voice). 

Sensitive-Sensorial. — Telepathy  ;  telaesthesia. 

Plastic. — Materialisations  ;  apports,  etc. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  we  examine  fraud  in  a  general 
manner,  we  will  notice  the  following  correspondences  : 
the  words  conscious  and  unconscious  are  taken  in  the 
sense  of  the  personal  consciousness  : — 


Motricity  :  normal. 


Sensibility :  normal. 


Sensibility :  normal. 


Conscious    and   voluntary 
movements. 

Conscious  but  involuntary 
movements. 

Unconscious  and  involun- 
tary movements. 


paranormal.     4.  Exteriorisation  of  motricity 
and  plasticity  ;  telekin- 
esis J  materialisations. 
5.  Voluntary  falsehood. 


paranormal. 


hypermnesiae  j     param- 
nesias. 
Exteriorisation  of  the  sen- 
sibility J     clairaudience  j 
telepathy  j  clairvoyance. 


Conscious  voluntary 
fraud.  Simulation} 
responsibility. 

Conscious  impulsive 
fraud.  Simulation} 
irresponsibility. 

Impulsive  and  uncon- 
scious fraud  }  irre- 
sponsibility. 

No  fraud. 


Voluntary  and  con- 
scious fraud.  Sim- 
ulation 5  responsi- 
bility. 

No  fraud  j  no  real 
phenomenon. 

No  fraud;  real  phe- 
nomena. 


As  for  true  exosomatic  automatism,  there  can  be  no 
question  of  fraud  as  far  as  it  is  concerned.     This  classi- 


38o       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

fication,  which  I  only  give  as  an  experiment,  appears  to 
me  more  complete  than  that  of  Ochorowicz's  {Annales  de 
Sciences  Psychiques,  vi.  97).     The  latter  distinguishes — 

{a)  Conscious  fraud. 

(J?)  Unconscious  fraud  : 

in  the  waking  state    .  .  1  Medianity  of  an 

in  the  trance  state      .  .  J    inferior  order. 

{c)  Partial,  automatic  fraud  .  |  Medianity  of  a 

{d)  The  pure  phenomenon   .  .  J    superior  order. 

If  we  compare  Ochorowicz's  table  with  mine  we  will 
notice  that  his  conscious  fraud  corresponds  to  Nos.  i  and 
5  of  my  classification. 

His  unconscious  fraud  to  No.  3. 

I  divide  his  partial,  automatic  fraud  into  the  classes 
2,  3,  and  6. 

The  pure  phenomenon  into  the  classes  4  and  7. 

His  superior  medianity  includes  all  exosomatic  auto- 
matisms (Nos.  4  and  7)  ;  his  inferior  medianity,  the 
classes  3  and  6. 

These  general  indications  given,  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
I  divide  fraud  into  three  categories,  which  are,  moreover, 
susceptible  of  co-existing  and  of  forming  mixed  types  : 
this  is  the  ordinary  case.  We  have,  first  of  all,  the 
guilty,  voluntary  and  conscious  fraud  ;  then  the  impul- 
sive, but  conscious,  frequent  fraud  ;  then  the  unconscious 
and  involuntary  fraud,  veritable  normal  automatism  :  the 
author  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  this  last  order  of 
fraud,  which  is,  moreover,  very  frequent  with  many 
excellent  mediums. 

If  we  study  the  psychological  mechanism  of  fraud,  we 
will  find  variable  and  diverse  causes. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  381 

I.    CONSCIOUS    AND    VOLUNTARY    FRAUD 

The  most  usual  cause  is  self-interest.  This  is  the 
case  with  charlatans,  who  speculate  upon  the  credulity 
of  the  public.  We  must  not  think  this  is  the  only 
motive  ;  each  impostor  obeys  motives  which  are  peculiar 
to  himself.  The  medical  student,  who  gave  me  such 
curious  examples  of  fraud,  was  not  actuated  by  motives 
of  self-interest.  I  think  it  was  simply  for  the  pleasure 
of  cheating,  of  taking  me  in,  for  I  had  often  spoken  to 
him  about  my  suspicions.  He  often  cheated  simply  as 
a  prank  ;  this  is  what  happened  in  a  seance  given  by 
a  spiritistic  group  to  convince  some  new  converts, 
when  my  student,  it  appears,  gave  them  manifestations 
somewhat  out  of  the  common  ! 

However,  conscious  and  voluntary  fraud  raise  no  real 
psychological  problem. 

2.    CONSCIOUS    AND    INVOLUNTARY   OR   MIXED    FRAUD 

On  the  contrary,  the  problem  originates  in  this  order 
of  fraud.  It  often  happens  in  circles,  though  composed 
of  honourable  persons,  that  some  of  the  sitters,  who 
would  be  incapable  of  voluntarily  committing  a  fraud, 
do  not  dare  to  accuse  themselves  of  an  involuntary 
movement  made  by  them,  and  of  which  they  are  con- 
scious. This  can  only  be  applied  to  fairly  rapid 
movements,  such  as  those  which  imitate  raps  or  para- 
kinetic  movements.  In  serious  seances,  the  sitters 
should  give  themselves  the  habit  of  openly  acknowledging 
every  involuntary  movement ;  it  will  be  noticed  that 
certain  persons  are  very  prone  to  these  movements. 
They  often  end  by  being  ashamed  of  accusing   them- 


382        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

selves  so  often,  and  thus  fraud  from  timidity  :  I  have 
met  with  this,  especially  among  women.  It  is  one  of 
the  reasons  which  make  me  condemn  all  experiments 
for  the  production  of  movements  with  contact. 

Timidity  is  the  usual  cause  of  this  kind  of  fraud  :   the 
psychological  problem  raised  is  simple. 


3.    UNCONSCIOUS    AND    INVOLUNTARY    FRAUD 

Here  the  problem  becomes  complicated.  I  will  not 
distinguish,  as  Ochorowicz  does,  fraud  committed  in  the 
waking  state  from  fraud  committed  in  the  trance  or 
second  state.  The  psychological  mechanism  is  the  same 
in  both  cases,  and  appears  to  me  to  depend  upon  self- 
suggestion,  or  what  has  been  called  monoideism^  that  is 
to  say,  the  mind  is  invaded  by  one  idea,  which  ends 
by  stifling  all  others,  and  by  realising  itself :  it  is,  in 
reality,  a  phenomenon  analogous  to  that  determined  by 
suggestion. 

It  is  in  unconscious  or  involuntary  frauds,  that  the 
psychological  disaggregation  of  the  medium  which  Janet 
has  studied,  is  best  observed.  These  frauds  present 
phenomena  which  are  without  interest  from  a  medianic 
point  of  view. 

What  is  the  mechanism  of  unconscious  and  involuntary 
frauds }  It  appears  to  me  to  be  the  following  :  the 
subjects — they  may  have  been  good  mediums  in  their 
day — who  commit  this  kind  of  fraud  sit  down  to  the 
table,  or  give  a  seance  in  view  of  obtaining  supernormal 
phenomena.  But  the  production  of  these  phenomena 
is  often  difficult,  sometimes  impossible.  Immobility, 
expectation,    and    obscurity    act    powerfully    upon    the 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  383 

nervous  system  of  these  mediums,  and  particularly  so 
when  they  are  hysterical.  They  determine  the  trance  ; 
the  desire  for  the  phenomenon  becomes  a  fixed  idea, 
and  then  a  self-suggestion.  If  the  supernormal  pheno- 
menon delays,  the  inferior  strata  of  the  consciousness — 
whose  morality  often  differs  greatly  from  that  of  the  active 
personal  consciousness — realises  it  normally. 

In  the  same  way,  even  if  the  sensitive  does  not  fall 
into  the  trance  state,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  particular 
state  manifested  which  is  not  sleep,  neither  is  it  the  full, 
genuine  waking-state.  The  active  and  voluntary  personal 
element  of  the  consciousness,  as  well  as  the  judgment, 
becomes  weakened.  The  sphere  of  the  personality  is 
reduced,  and  personal  activity  gives  place  to  automatism. 
Every  degree  between  conscious  and  involuntary  fraud 
and  pure  automatism  is  to  be  met  with. 

Therefore,  it  is  prudent  to  take  measures  to  guard 
against  fraud  with  all  subjects  who  become  entranced, 
or  with  those  who  become  somnolent  in  obscurity, 
silence,  immobility,  and  expectation  ;  but  we  should 
be  frank  with  our  sensitives  :  let  us  not  offer,  in  our- 
selves, an  example  of  dissimulation  to  the  medium  ; 
neither  must  we  let  him  have  the  impression  of  not 
being  controlled  :  this  would  be  to  expose  him  to  a 
temptation,  all  the  greater  in  that  his  personal  power 
of  volition  is  weakened. 

Add  to  this,  that  we  do  not  in  the  least  know  what 
influence  the  mental  state  of  the  experimenters  has  upon 
the  medium,  although  some  kind  of  influence  appears  to 
me  to  exist.  We  do  not  know  to  what  extent  an  ill- 
founded  certitude  of  fraud  can  be  responsible  for  its 
birth.     Ochorowicz  says  on  this  subject : — 


384        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

'  After  having  recognised  that  the  medium  is  only  a 
mirror,  who  reflects  and  directs  the  ideas  and  nervous 
forces  of  the  assistants  towards  an  ideoplastic  end,  we 
will  not  be  surprised  to  see  that  suggestion  plays  an 
important  role  therein.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that 
the  assistants  can  suggest  the  desired  act  to  the 
medium  ;  neither  is  it  doubtful  that  the  manifestations 
bear  the  stamp  of  surrounding  beliefs.  In  a  society  of 
materialists  I  have  seen  "John"  (with  Eusapia  Paladino) 
become  dissolved  into  an  impersonal  force,  which  the 
medium  simply  called  "  questa  forza/'  while  in  intimate 
spiritistic  circles  it  took  the  form  of  deceased  persons, 
more  or  less  clumsily.  In  the  same  way,  with  con- 
trollers imbued  with  the  idea  of  fraud  as  Messrs. 
Hodgson  and  Maskelyne  were,  the  medium  will 
remain  under  the  empire  of  a  suggestion  of  fraud.' 

Without  completely  sharing  Ochorowicz's  conviction, 
I  have  reasons  for  thinking  that  his  theory  comes  very 
close  to  the  truth.  I  have  myself  indicated  how  sug- 
gestible the  personification  is. 

There  is  something  else.  In  cases  where  force  is 
lacking,  or  is  feeble,  it  is  easier  for  the  medium  to 
obtain  the  phenomenon  normally — that  is  to  say,  by 
fraud — rather  than  by  veritable  exteriorisation.  I  have 
remarked,  that  often  the  paranormal  movement  has  to 
be  normally  simulated  before  it  is  supernormally  realised. 
This  is  frequently  the  case  with  Eusapia.  We  can 
conceive  how  the  movement  of  simulation  can  end  in 
fraud,  when  the  medium  is  in  a  hemisomnambulistic 
state. 

In  short,  the  energy  which  sets  an  object  in  move- 
ment appears  to  me  to  be  of  nervous   origin,   and    I 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  385 

believe  it  to  be  of  the  same  nature  as  that  which  pro- 
vokes muscular  contractions.  Therefore,  this  is  what 
follows  :  the  force  only  becomes  exteriorised  if  accumu- 
lated and  wrought  up  to  a  sufficient  tension.  In  pro- 
portion as  its  tension  increases,  so  it  tends  to  expend 
itself  in  the  form  of  impulsive  movements  ;  the  medium 
must  resist  this  tendency  to  be  able  to  obtain  the  pure 
phenomenon.  Therefore  experimenters  ought  to  keep 
the  medium  in  this  resistance,  and  not  allow  him  facility 
for  expending  the  energy  which  tends  to  realise  itself  in 
muscular  movements. 

Such  are  the  conclusions  to  which  the  observations  I 
have  made  with  several  mediums  have  led  me.  Uncon- 
scious and  involuntary  fraud  is  frequent,  and  in  order 
to  avoid  it,  the  conditions  likely  to  favour  it  should  be 
carefully  put  aside,  especially  in  the  beginning  of  a 
series  of  experiments,  and  when  experimenting  with 
an  undeveloped  medium.  Medianity  is  powerfully 
influenced  by  acquired  habits. 

There  exists,  finally,  another  kind  of  unconscious  and 
involuntary  fraud  :  that  which  is  due  to  illusion.  It  is 
constantly  found  in  spiritistic  seances,  where  ninety-nine 
times  out  of  a  hundred  mediums  produce  no  real  pheno- 
mena. They  are,  nevertheless,  in  earnest,  but  they  do 
not  take  into  consideration  the  role  of  memory  and 
imagination.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  intuitive 
writing  mediums  and  *  control '  m'ediums.  With  this 
order  of  phenomenon  we  rarely  obtain  verifiable 
indications  ;  the  *  spirits '  utter  plenty  of  commonplace 
generalities,  but  give  no  precise  information. 

Fraud  is  a  misnomer  in  this  case  :  being  unconscious 
and  involuntary,  it  cannot,  correctly  speaking,  be  called 

2  B 


386       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

fraud  ;    therefore    it    is   better   to    reserve    the    word 
'  illusion  '  for  it. 

I  cannot  think  of  analysing  the  question  of  fraud  in 
detail.  If  examined  closely  it  is  extremely  complicated. 
But,  like  Richet,  I  deem  '  it  possible  that  in  states 
bordering  on  trance,  and  in  trance  itself,  the  psychology 
of  a  medium  may  be  very  different  from  ours.'  I  con- 
fine myself  simply  to  indicating  the  result  of  my  reflec- 
tions, which  are  the  fruit  of  a  long  series  of  observations. 
Let  me  renew  my  oft-repeated  recommendation  for 
avoiding  fraud  :  Experiment  with  light,  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  light,  and  seek  for  simple  pheno- 
mena, difficult,  perhaps,  to  obtain,  but  easy  to  observe, 
such  as  raps  and  movements  without  contact. 


II.    ERROR 

If  I  insist  so  much  upon  the  necessity,  especially  in 
the  beginning,  of  seeking  only  for  phenomena  observa- 
tion of  which  is  easy,  it  is  because  error  of  observation 
is  facile.  We  need  to  be  much  accustomed  to  seances 
to  be  able  to  distinguish  rapidly  between  probable 
phenomena  and  those  which  are  certainly  tricked.  It 
is  with  this,  as  with  everything  else,  a  question  of  time 
and  reflection. 

One  of  the  causes  of  error,  which  it  is  highly  important 
to  avoid,  Is  obscurity.  For  many  simple  phenomena 
darkness  is  unnecessary  ;  therefore,  from  the  very  out- 
set, we  should  exhort  the  personification  to  accept  light. 
I  have  already  frequently  said  that  personifications  are 
very  suggestible.     I  know  well  it  is  not  always  so,  and 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  387 

that  at  times  the  personification  displays  much  obstinacy. 
Personifications  of  this  class  are  especially  observed  with 
mediums  who  have  long-acquired  habits.  It  was  so 
with  Eusapia,  who  was  only  accustomed  to  giving  dark 
seances.  But  even  when  the  personification  appears  to 
have  very  decided  ideas,  it  is  possible,  with  a  little  in- 
genuity, to  induce  him  to  change.  It  is  with  them  as 
with  secondary  personalities,  or  subjects  to  whom  we 
have  given  a  suggestion.  We  must  enter  right  into 
the  circle  of  suggested  ideas  in  order  to  break  it ;  it  is 
a  question  of  tact  only. 

With  Eusapia  we  succeeded  in  operating  in  a  good 
light  by  appealing  to  *  John's '  vanity.  We  explained  to 
him  that  obscurity  stood  in  the  way  of  the  observation 
of  the  phenomena,  that  he  was  just  as  capable  of  working 
in  the  light  as  the  '  guides '  of  other  mediums  were.  In 
this  way,  we  lead  him  to  change  his  habits  with  us  ;  the 
meno  luce  to  which  those  who  have  experimented  with  this 
medium  are  accustomed,  was  still  demanded,  but  only 
when  the  seance  was  well  advanced.  At  Bordeaux, 
where  there  was  a  large  bay-window  in  the  seance-room, 
the  reflection  thereon  from  the  lights  burning  in  the 
kitchen  and  winter-garden  enabled  us  to  see  a  little. 
In  that  case,  Eusapia  or  John  did  not  desire  total 
obscurity,  and  we  always  had  this  feeble  light,  allowing 
a  visual  control  which  was  sometimes  satisfactory. 

When  we  are  lucky  enough  to  meet  with  an  un- 
developed medium,  it  is  easy  to  give  him  the  habit  of 
operating  in  full  light.  This  has  occasionally  happened 
to  me. 

I  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  influence  of  obscurity 
upon  error.     With  some  very  rare  exceptions  we  can 


388       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

never  be  certain  of  the  authenticity  of  a  phenomenon 
obtained  in  a  dark  seance. 

Obscurity  is,  however,  necessary  for  luminous  pheno- 
mena. When  once  we  have  observed  decided  luminous 
forms,  or  really  characteristic  lights,  it  is  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish between  them  and  illusion.  A  cool,  calm 
observer  does  not  make  a  mistake ;  it  is  not  quite  the 
same  with  excited  experimenters.  These  latter  give 
veritable  suggestions  to  one  another,  and  they  end  by 
having  curious  collective  hallucinations.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  facts  of  observation  in  spiritistic 
seances,  so  rich  in  purely  psychological  curiosities.  I 
have  frequently  heard  a  sitter  say  that  he  saw  a  light 
in  a  given  direction  ;  the  others  looked  in  their  turn  and 
also  saw  it.  Then  one  declared  he  perceived  a  form  ; 
soon  others  also  saw  a  form.  And  from  exclamation  to 
exclamation  the  description  of  the  form  is  completed. 
This  is  the  genesis  of  a  collective  hallucination. 

I  need  hardly  say,  that  experimenters  who  are  so 
suggestible  are  not  good  elements :  in  purely  scientific 
researches  they  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Personal  experience  has  shown  me,  that  of  all  the 
senses,  that  of  sight  is  the  most  liable  to  imaginary 
impressions  ;  after  sight,  the  sense  of  touch  is  the  most 
prompt  to  receive  illusion.  There  are  constant  examples 
of  this  in  spiritistic  seances  ;  the  cool  breeze^  which  is 
often  really  felt,  is  more  often  only  imaginary.  One 
person  says  he  feels  it  ;  others  at  once  imagine  they  feel 
it  also.  Sometimes  it  is  not  an  error  of  imagination, 
but  an  error  of  attribution,  the  sensation  of  a  cool  breeze 
being  caused  by  the  breath. 

The  sense  of  hearing  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  refrac- 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  389 

tory  to  suggestion  in  seances,  though  it  does  not 
altogether  escape.  I  know  of  very  few  examples  of 
imagined  raps  or  noises. 

On  the  contrary,  the  muscular  sense  is  one  of  the 
most  unfaithful.  Unless  one  has  experimented  oneself, 
it  is  impossible  to  imagine  how  frequent  unconscious  and 
involuntary  movements  are.  These  movements  are  of 
very  feeble  amplitude  ;  they  are  slight,  but  they  end  by 
acquiring  a  certain  amount  of  force.  It  will  then  be 
noticed  that  the  assistants  accuse  each  other  reciprocally 
of  pushing  the  table,  and  it  is  not  rare  to  see  angry 
discussions  arise  on  these  occasions.  This  is  a  frequent 
fact  of  observation.  I  have  also  very  frequently  noticed 
tactile  hallucinations  with  impressionable  experimenters, 
who  easily  imagine  diverse  contacts. 

The  sense  of  smell  sometimes  perceives  imaginary 
odours,  but  it  is  somewhat  rare.  I  have  not  observed 
any  hallucinations  of  taste. 

Another  cause  of  error  which  requires  pointing  out  is 
fatigue  on  the  part  of  the  experimenters.  Every  pheno- 
menon which  is  produced  after  a  long  period  of  waiting 
stands  many  chances  of  being  badly  observed.  The 
attention  kept  for  a  long  time  on  the  qui  vive  becomes 
weary,  gives  place  to  abstraction,  and  often  the  pheno- 
mena takes  the  experimenters  by  surprise  ;  hence  they 
are  unable  to  examine  the  conditions  with  certitude.  It 
is  also  bad  to  hold  very  long  seances,  fatigue  quickly 
setting  in. 

Such  are  the  principal  causes  of  positive  errors ;  that 
is  to  say,  of  errors  tending  to  persuade  one  of  the 
existence  of  an  imaginary  fact ;  negative  errors,  that  is 
to  say,  those  which  tend  to  make  one  look  upon  a  real 


390        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

fact  as  an  imaginary  one,  are  not  less  dangerous  than 
positive  errors. 

In  the  first  place,  parti  pris  is  to  be  pointed  out.  If 
we  wish  to  experiment  with  success,  we  must  experiment 
without  credulity,  without  faith,  even  without  confi- 
dence ;  but  we  must  not  be  determined  only  to  meet 
with  fraud. 

We  must  not  experiment  na'ively.  If,  at  the  beginning 
of  a  seance,  it  be  useful  to  allow  freedom  in  order  to  put 
the  force  en  trains  as  Ochorowicz  wisely  recommends, 
once  the  phenomena  are  established,  we  must  control  them 
with  the  greatest  care.  But  we  should  make  our  in- 
tentions known  to  the  medium  and  to  the  personification. 
This,  I  think,  is  an  indispensable  precaution.  The 
personification  will  always  consent  to  it ;  but  this  does 
not  mean  we  will  always  obtain  the  wished-for  result. 
We  must  not  allow  the  medium  or  the  personification 
to  think  we  are  their  dupes  if  they  fraud ;  we  must 
tell  them,  gently  but  clearly,  that  they  are  not  giving 
anything  good.  Equivocation  is  to  be  carefully  avoided, 
all  misunderstanding  is  to  be  shunned. 

We  must  not,  however,  place  the  medium  under  such 
conditions  that  the  experiment  cannot  be  realised.  We 
do  not  understand  these  conditions,  and,  perhaps,  appar- 
ently simple  phenomena  may  not  be  realisable.  I  re- 
member that  at  Choisy  in  1896,  a  lady,  a  member  of  my 
family — she  has  an  insurmountable  bias  against  psychical 
experiments,  which  she  declares  a  priori  are  fraudulent — 
declared  to  Eusapia  that  she  would  believe  in  her  pheno- 
mena, if  she  could  make  a  doll's  table  move  before  her 
eyes.  Eusapia  placed  this  small  table  on  top  of  the 
seance- table,   but  did  not  succeed  in  making  it  move. 


FRAUD  AND  ERROR  391 

Why  could  not  such  an  apparently  simple  phenomenon 
be  obtained  ? 

We  must,  therefore,  observe,  but  we  must  not  wish 
to  impose  beforehand  the  conditions  which  the  pheno- 
menon should  fulfil  in  order  to  be  accepted. 

Many  experimenters  tie  up  the  medium,  put  him  into 
a  sack,  and  seal  him  therein.  If  he  consents  to  this,  well 
and  good ;  if  he  refuses,  other  means  of  control  must  be 
found.  We  must  not  indeed  suppose  that  the  medium's 
refusal  is  always  due  to  a  desire  to  fraud.  The  slightest 
fetters  may  sometimes  be  very  painful,  especially  when 
there  be  cutaneous  hyperassthesia. 

Before  bringing  a  negative  judgment  to  bear  upon  the 
phenomena,  the  experimenters  should  always  hold  a 
certain  number  of  seances,  and  should  not  found  their 
judgment  upon  one  bad  seance  alone  ;  by  so  doing  they 
would  expose  themselves  to  a  wrong  course  of  action. 

It  is  especially  in  psychical  experimentation  that  in- 
exhaustible patience  is  necessary. 


392        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


CONCLUSION 

And  now  my  task  is  accomplished.  I  perceive  that  in 
the  latter  part  of  my  work,  I  have  broached  complex 
and  difficult  problems,  and  have  allowed  myself  to  be 
drawn  into  —  not  theorising  —  but  combating  certain 
theories  which  appear  to  me  to  be  incorrect  or  insuffi- 
cient ;  for  which  I  beg  my  reader's  pardon.  In  con- 
clusion, I  wish  to  repeat  that  I  am  convinced  of  having, 
in  a  sure,  positive  manner,  observed  raps  and  movements 
without  contact.  I  have  seen  many  other  phenomena  ; 
but  I  will  not  venture  to  be  so  affirmative  concerning 
them,  at  present. 

I  make  no  pretension  of  demonstrating  the  reality  of  the 
facts  I  have  observed.  In  publishing  my  conclusions,  I  have 
had  but  one  object  in  view,  that  of  bringing  my  testimony 
to  those,  who,  long  before  me,  attested  to  the  facts  which 
I  in  my  turn  affirm.  Does  that  mean  that  I  have  not 
been  mistaken  ?  most  assuredly,  no  !  And  it  is  very 
possible  that  my  observations  may  have  been  imperfect. 
I  am,  nevertheless,  so  convinced  of  their  exactness,  that 
I  can  only  advise  those  who  may  impugn  the  accuracy  of 
my  statements,  to  experiment  as  I  have  done,  with  the 
same  method,  and  the  same  patience.  I  have  had  many 
occasions  to  pronounce  these  words  in  the  course  of  my 
work,  and  now  in  terminating  it,  I  pronounce  them 
once  again  with  stronger  emphasis  than  ever. 


CONCLUSION  393 

I  doubt,  though,  whether  my  voice  will  be  heeded, 
where  others,  more  influential  than  mine,  have  remained 
unheard.  However,  I  do  not  regret  having  expressed 
my  opinion  about  these  facts.  I  am  persuaded,  that 
some  day,  perhaps  very  soon,  they  will  come  under 
scientific  discipline,  and  this,  in  spite  of  all  the  obstacles 
which  obstinacy  and  fear  of  ridicule  accumulate  in  the 
way. 

One  of  these  obstacles,  and  it  is  not  the  least,  is  due 
to  the  fashion  in  which  many  savants  estimate  mediums. 
Their  judgment  is  summed  up  in  such  expressions  as 
hysteric,  cheat,  physically  or  morally  tainted,  degenerates. 
Such  a  judgment  is  iniquitous,  absurd  and  false  in  its 
generality,  and  baneful  in  its  consequences.  It  is 
founded  upon  a  deplorable  error,  for  I  know  mediums 
who  possess  faculties  superior  to  the  average,  and  who 
present  absolutely  no  stigma  of  degeneracy.  I  have 
said,  and  I  cannot  repeat  it  too  often,  my  finest  pheno- 
mena were  obtained  with  subjects  who  were  sound  and 
healthy  in  mind  and  body.  It  is  with  hysterical  subjects 
that  we  observe  fraud,  side  by  side  with  gleams  of  true 
phenomena ;  but  with  a  medium  who  has  no  nervous 
taint,  whose  well-balanced  intelligence  knows  how  to  offer 
resistance  to  self-suggestion,  and  Pidee  fixe,  we  have  real 
phenomena  or  none  at  all. 

The  opinion  of  savants,  who,  ill  acquainted  with  the 
facts,  inform  us  that  mediums  are  hysterics  and  victims 
of  nervous  disorders,  is  therefore  erroneous;  unfor- 
tunately the  consequences  of  such  an  opinion  are 
lamentable.  I  know  many  remarkable  subjects  who 
absolutely  refuse  to  experiment  outside  a  tested  and 
restricted  group,   because  they  fear  to  be  regarded  as 


394        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

neurotics  ;  they  are  afraid  of  being  stigmatised  as  insane, 
they  are  afraid  of  compromising  their  commercial  posi- 
tion or  their  professional  interests.  I  will  never  succeed 
in  convincing  them  that  they  are  above  the  average  ; 
doubtless  I  will  succeed  still  less  in  inducing  others  to 
believe  it :  though  in  many  respects  it  be  true.  If  the 
relative  perfection  of  their  nervous  system  renders  these 
persons  more  sensitive  than  the  average,  it  would  be  wrong 
to  conclude  thereupon,  that  they  were  degenerate  speci- 
mens of  humanity.  This  argument  is  lacking  in  common- 
sense  ;  we  might  just  as  reasonably  insist  that  Europeans 
are  in  degeneration,  because  they  are  more  emotional  and 
more  sensitive  to  pain  than  certain  savage  tribes.  How 
ignorant,  tactless,  and  incautious  we  are  !  The  attitude 
of  certain  learned  centres — it  is  with  intention  that  I  do 
not  say  the  most  cultured — is,  to  me,  similar  to  that  of 
ecclesiastical  authorities  in  the  middle  ages.  The  novelty 
of  a  thing  frightens  them.  They  treat  independent 
scientific  thought  as  the  inquisitors  treated  free  thought 
in  days  gone  by.  Like  their  prototypes  of  other  times, 
they  have  the  same  intolerance,  the  same  hate  for  schism 
and  heresy.  Their  accumulated  errors  ought  to  make 
them  cautious  :  but,  no  !  If  they  no  longer  make  a 
pariah  of  the  arch-heretic  or  schismatic,  if  they  no 
longer  deliver  him  up  to  the  executioner,  they  treat  him 
with  the  same  relative  vigour.  They  excommunicate 
him,  in  their  fashion,  and  cast  him  out  of  sane  healthy 
humanity  as  a  degenerate,  a  mystic,  an  exalte.  The 
future  will  have  the  same  opinion  of  them  as  we  have, 
to-day,  of  their  predecessors.  Their  attitude  prevents 
the  most  cultured,  the  most  capable  mediums  from 
allowing  their  psychic  faculties  to  become  known.      If 


CONCLUSION  395 

these  mediums  spoke  of  visions,  a  douche  would  be 
recommended  !  If  they  caused  a  table  to  move  without 
contact,  the  words  hysteria  and  fraud  would  be  heard. 
Is  it  surprising  they  should  hide  their  gifts  ? 

We  ought  to  consider  mediums  as  precious  beings, 
as  forerunners  of  the  future  type  of  our  race.  Why 
should  we  only  see  degeneracy  around  us  ?  Why  should 
we  not  see  superior  beings  ahead  of  us,  beacons,  as  it 
were,  on  the  route  we  have  to  follow  ?  Does  not  simple 
common-sense  suggest  that  humanity  has  not  yet  arrived 
at  perfection — that  it  is  evolving  to-day  just  as  it  has 
always  been  doing  ?  All  men  have  not  attained  the  same 
degree  of  evolution.  As  there  are  types  representing 
the  average  state  of  former  days,  so  there  are  advanced 
types  representing  to-day  the  average  state  of  the  future. 
The  progress  of  the  race  seems  to  make  for  perfection 
along  the  lines  of  the  nervous  system,  in  the  acquisition 
of  more  delicate  senses,  of  greater  nervous  sensibility, 
and  of  vaster  means  of  information.  If  the  discovery  of 
implements,  new  instruments  of  investigation,  such  as 
the  telescope  and  microscope,  for  example,  aid  in  the 
progress  of  the  race,  they  are  of  no  use  for  the  evolution 
of  the  individual  himself.  Now,  veritable  progress  is 
individual ;  it  is  the  improvement  of  the  individual  which 
assures  the  evolution  of  the  race,  and  this  progress  should 
be  determined  by  heredity.  Do  what  we  will,  we  shall 
never  be  born  with  a  microscope  at  the  eyes,  and  a 
telephone  at  the  ears.  Progress  of  this  kind  is  not 
transmissible  ;  only  physiological  acquisitions  are  trans- 
missible. The  sensibility  of  the  nervous  system  of 
mediums  is  a  progress  on  our  relative  obtuseness  ;  it 
is  not  the  same  thing  with  the  bad  sight  of  him  who 


396        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

makes  an  improper  use  of  the  microscope.  If  Virchow 
were  still  alive,  there  would  be  many  disagreeable  things 
to  be  said  to  him,  concerning  the  inaptitude  of  the 
ordinary  type  of  savant  to  personify  the  desirable  pro- 
gress of  the  race  towards  health,  force,  sensibility,  and 
the  perfect  form. 

The  intolerance  of  certain  savants  is  equalled  by  that 
of  certain  dogmas.  To  take  an  example,  Catholicism 
considers  psychical  phenomena  as  the  work  of  the  devil ! 
Is  it  worth  while  at  this  hour  to  discuss  so  obsolete  a 
theory  ?  I  think  not.  However,  superior  ecclesiastical 
authorities,  with  the  tact  and  sentiment  of  opportunism 
which  they  often  show,  permit  many  Catholics  to  under- 
take the  experimental  study  of  psychical  facts.  I  cannot 
blame  them  for  recommending  prudent  abstention  to 
the  mass  of  the  faithful ;  spiritism  appears  to  me  to  be 
an  adversary  with  which  they  will  have  to  reckon  very 
seriously  some  day.  The  simplicity  of  its  doctrines 
ensures  it  the  clientele  of  simple  souls  enamoured  of 
justice,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  immense  majority  of 
mankind. 

But  this  question  is  foreign  to  psychical  facts  them- 
selves. As  far  as  my  experience  permits  me  to  judge 
of  them,  these  phenomena  contain  nothing  but  what  is 
natural.  The  devil  does  not  show  his  hoof  here, 
timorous  souls  may  feel  reassured  ;  if  the  tables  claim  to 
be  Satan  himself,  they  need  not  be  believed  ;  summoned 
to  prove  his  power,  this  grandiloquent  Satan  will  be 
a  sorry  thaumaturgist.  Religious  prejudice,  which  pro- 
scribes these  experiments  as  being  supernatural,  is  just 
as  little  justified  as  scientific  prejudice,  which  sees  therein 
nothing  but   fraud   and   imposture.     Here,    again,    the 


CONCLUSION 


397 


old  adage  of  Aristotle  finds  its  application  :   Justice  lies 
midway. 

May  my  book  determine  a  few  experimenters  of 
goodwill  to  try  to  observe  in  their  turn.  May  it  help 
to  dispel  from  the  mind  of  gifted  mediums  their  fears  of 
being  ranked  with  insane  and  disordered  intelligences, 
or  looked  upon  as  being  in  partnership  with  the  devil. 
May  it  especially  contribute  to  make  metapsychic 
phenomena  come  to  be  considered  as  natural  facts,  worthy 
of  being  usefully  observed,  and  capable  of  enabling  us 
to  penetrate  more  deeply  than  any  other  phenomena  into 
a  real  knowledge  of  the  laws  which  govern  Nature. 


398        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


APPENDIX  A 

An  Appreciation  on  Certain  Documents  published 
on  the  subject  of  Fraud. 

The  question  of  fraud  is  so  important  that  I  feel  I  should  not 
only  give  the  results  of  my  own  observations,  but  also  my 
appreciation  of  some  of  the  principal  documents  published  on 
the  subject. 

With  the  exception  of  Richet  and  a  few  others,  representa- 
tives of  science  in  France  are  very  ill  informed  on  this  question, 
as  I  have  endeavoured  to  show.  They  overlook  the  immense 
work  which  has  been  done  in  the  United  States  and  in  England  ; 
consequently  it  is  very  difficult  to  discuss  the  question  with 
these  savants,  they  are  either  ignorant  or  feign  to  be  ignorant 
of  what  others  have  done.  I  have  shown  that  their  experiments 
are  defective  and  their  methods  open  to  criticism. 

If  all  serious  discussion  be  impossible  with  certain  savants,  it  is 
not  so  with  those  who  have  taken  the  trouble  to  verify  psychic 
phenomena  for  themselves.  This  is  the  case  with  the  principal 
members  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  Crookes,  Lodge, 
Barrett,  Myers,  Sidgwick,  Gurney,  Podmore,  Hodgson,  Hyslop, 
and  others.  The  first  three  are  persuaded  of  the  reality  of  the 
facts  observed  by  them.  The  others  have  a  tendency  to  attri- 
bute to  fraud  all  physical  phenomena  ;  they  admit,  on  the  other 
hand,  intellectual  phenomena,  and  explain  them  either  by  tele- 
pathy as  Mr.  Podmore  does,  or  by  the  intervention  of  spirits 
as  spiritists  themselves  do,  though  they  were  at  one  time  the 
latter's  adversaries  ;  this  is  notably  the  case  with  Myers,  Hodgson, 
and  Hyslop.  The  great  respect  I  have  for  the  remarkable  men 
who  direct  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  obliges  me  to 


APPENDIX  A  399 

examine  their  experiments  very  carefully,  for  their  judgment  has 
a  great  value  in  my  eyes ;  at  the  same  time,  I  have  too  much 
regard  for  the  research  of  truth  to  conceal  from  them  the  errors 
of  experimentation,  which  they  appear  to  me  to  have  committed. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Proceedings  will  be  found  a  series 
of  papers  by  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  Messrs.  Lewis,  Hodgson,  and  Davey 
upon  fraud.  The  last-named  deal  particularly  with  the  produc- 
tion of  direct  slate-writing.  This  phenomenon  is  very  easy  to 
simulate ;  it  suffices  to  read  the  papers  mentioned,  especially 
Davey's  document,  to  understand  under  what  suspicious  condi- 
tions the  phenomenon  was  produced. 

A  long  time  ago  I  myself  artificially  produced  this  kind  of 
manifestation  by  fixing  a  pencil  into  a  hole  in  the  table,  and 
thereupon  moving  the  slate  about.  With  practice  a  certain 
amount  of  facility  can  be  acquired  ;  you  can  write  fairly  well 
and  give  regularity  to  apparently  spasmodic  and  involuntary 
movements ;  but  only  inexperienced  or  credulous  people  are 
taken  in  by  this  trick  ;  and  though  they  may  be  more  compli- 
cated, Mr.  Davey's  methods  are  not  by  any  means  more  difficult 
to  expose. 

I  wonder  how  a  man  of  Dr.  Hodgson's  intelligence  could  have 
based  his  judgment  upon  such  superficial  observations  as  those 
of  the  experimenters  he  cites.  Here  are  men,  without  doubt 
honourable  and  well  educated,  who  hold  seances  with  the  object 
of  obtaining  direct  slate-writing  through  Mr.  Davey.  Instead 
of  taking  the  elementary  precaution  of  never  abandoning  their 
slates,  they  allow  the  medium  to  manipulate  them,  permit  him 
to  leave  the  seance-room  for  a  moment,  consent  to  allow  other 
slates  than  their  own  to  remain  on  the  table  at  the  same  time  as 
those  which  are  used  for  the  experiment,  and  lastly  when  they 
examine,  only  examine  it  on  one  side.  This  is  not  mal-observa- 
tion,  it  is  absence  of  observation.  (See  R.  Hodgson, '  Mr.  Davey's 
Imitations  by  Conjuring  of  Phenomena  sometimes  attributed  to 
Spirit  Agency,'  Proceedings^  vi.  253.) 

Mr.  Davey  has  also  produced  raps  and  materialisations  fraudu- 
lently.    It  is  necessary  to  read,  in   Dr.  Hodgson's    paper,  the 


.400        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

conditions  under  which  he  operated  to  see  what  ill-placed  con- 
fidence his  co-experimenters  had  in  him  (Davey).  They  do  not 
verify,  although  they  are  invited  to  do  so,  the  contents  of  a 
trunk  precisely  where  the  material  essential  to  fraud  was  con- 
cealed ;  they  allow  Mr.  Davey  to  close  the  door  of  the  room  : 
he  gives  two  turns  of  the  key,  the  one  locking,  the  other 
unlocking  the  door,  which  is  carelessly  sealed  with  gummed 
paper ;  no  one  thinks  of  verifying  if  the  door  is  well  closed. 
The  most  elementary  precautions  are  neglected  by  the  assistants 
who,  one  would  really  think,  had  been  chosen  by  Mr.  Davey  for 
their  very  credulity.  Frauds  as  easy  to  prevent  as  those  from 
which  Dr.  Hodgson  draws  his  argument,  cannot  be  considered 
as  being  able  to  take  in  a  prudent,  shrewd  observer,  accustomed 
to  experimentation,  and  knowing  how  to  preserve  a  little  sang- 
froid. Was  it  not  enough  that  the  medium  should  have  asked  one 
of  the  observers  :  '  What  do  you  want  the  spirit  to  write  on  the 
slate  ?  In  what  colour  do  you  want  the  writing  to  appear  ?'  for 
these  very  questions  alone  to  suggest  imposture  ?  Dr.  Hodgson's 
argumentation  is  inoperative,  and  the  faults,  accumulated  by  the 
deceived  observers  whose  impressions  he  cites,  are  excessive. 
One  would  think  he  had  had  to  do  with  very  convinced  spiritists, 
inclined  to  admit  a  priori  the  reality  of  the  forthcoming  pheno- 
mena without  troubling  themselves  about  the  precise  conditions 
of  their  observations  ;  this  is  what  the  perusal  of  the  reports  of 
these  seances  makes  one  think,  for  I  read  textually  (p.  296) : 
*It  may  be  interesting  to  compare  the  reports  given  by 
spirituahsts  of  a  sitting  with  Mr.  Davey  with  his  account  of 
what  really  occurred.*  Can  one  draw  an  argument  from  these 
accounts  of  spiritists  ?  Some  spiritists,  convinced  of  the  reality 
of  the  facts,  appear  to  care  very  little  indeed  about  any  sort  of 
control.  To  reason  from  their  methods  of  observation,  to 
generalise  this  reasoning  and  to  extend  it  to  all  observers,  is 
rather  too  easy  a  form  of  discussion. 

There  are  certain  phenomena  which  lend  themselves  badly  to 
observation :  this  is  particularly  the  case  with  those  which 
require  obscurity  and  arrangements  of  a  nature  likely  to  hinder 


APPENDIX  A  401 

or  interfere  with  the  best  control  which  can  be  exercised,  that  of 
the  eyesight.  In  my  opinion  the  phenomenon  has  no  demon- 
strative value  whenever  it  occurs  out  of  sight,  as  is  the  case  with 
slate-writing,  when  the  slate  is  held  under  the  table.  Neither 
has  it  any  great  signification  when  it  requires  sustained  observa- 
tion in  order  to  control  it.  Errors  are  easy,  for  abstraction 
almost  inevitably  follows,  if  it  does  not  accompany,  sustained 
attention.  Hodgson,  in  'The  Possibilities  of  Mal-Observation  and 
Lapse  of  Memory  from  a  Practical  Point  of  View  '  [Proceedings^ 
iv.  381)  gives  examples  of  this,  but  his  paper  only  points  out 
facts  well  known  to  those  who  are  famiHar  with  human  testi- 
mony. In  order  to  observe  with  a  minimum  chance  of  error, 
the  phenomenon  we  intend  to  study  should  be  simple,  and 
repeated  often  enough  to  prevent  the  attention  from  becoming 
weary  from  waiting.  From  this  point  of  view,  the  production 
of  raps  and  telekinetic  movements  with  the  aid  of  the  experi- 
mental manoeuvres  I  have  described,  permit,  by  specifying  the 
moment  when  the  phenomenon  is  going  to  occur,  of  bringing 
the  whole  attention  to  bear  upon  the  examination  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  the  phenomenon  is  obtained.  Raps  and 
movements  without  contact  appear  to  me  to  lend  themselves 
admirably  to  observation ;  with  these  phenomena,  by  operating 
as  I  have  indicated,  experimentation  is  almost  possible ;  but  a 
veritable  medium  must  be  sought  for  in  the  first  instance. 

Now  this  is  what  my  colleagues  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research  did,  but  they  did  so  under  conditions  which  were  far 
from  satisfactory.  Mrs.  Sidgwick,  a  woman  of  brilliant  intellect, 
has  given  an  account  of  the  attempts  made  by  herself,  her 
husband,  and  friends  to  obtain  psychical  phenomena.  They 
went  to  Eglinton  and  Slade  for  slate-writing,  to  the  Misses 
Wood  and  Fairlamb  and  a  Mr.  Haxby  for  materialisations. 
The  first  two  gave  phenomena  which  were  suspicious,  not  to 
say  worse ;  as  for  Haxby,  he  frauded  shamefacedly.  Mrs. 
Sidgwick's  account  is  demonstrative  on  this  point,  and  it  is 
enough  to  read  it  to  be  convinced  that  no  shrewd  observer  could 
be  taken  in. 

2  C 


402        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

The  first  mistake,  committed  by  the  distinguished  members 
of  the  Sidgwick  group,  was  to  suppose  that  psychical  phenomena 
can  be  obtained  at  will.  Whenever  a  paid  medium  gives  regular 
seances,  there  are  a  hundred  chances  to  one  of  downright  fraud. 
If  there  be  a  positive  feature  in  these  supernormal  facts,  that 
feature  in  my  opinion  is  their  apparent  irregularity.  I  have 
been  able  to  experiment  with  intelligent,  well-educated  mediums 
anxious  for  a  thorough  investigation  of  their  powers :  I  have 
made  very  many  experiments  with  them,  and  I  have  observed 
that  often  whole  weeks  passed  away  without  a  good  seance  ; 
at  other  times,  the  force  was  so  abundant  that  phenomena 
were  forthcoming  without  seance.  I  have  related  some  curious 
facts  in  this  respect,  e.g.  the  table  moving  spontaneously  in  the 
course  of  a  conversation  bearing  upon  psychical  phenomena 
(p.  io6). 

What  are  the  conditions  which  impede  or  favour  the  produc- 
tion of  this  unknown  mode  of  energy  ?  I  cannot  specify  them  ; 
but  I  think  I  have  noticed  concordances,  which  confirm  in  a 
measure  the  conclusions  of  Ochorowicz  {Annales  des  Sciences 
PsychiqueSy  vi.  115)  : — 

1.  Action  of  temperature.  Dry  cold  weather  is  the  most 
favourable.     Damp  or  close  weather  is  most  unfavourable. 

2.  Health  of  the  medium  and  sitters.  If  the  medium  does 
not  feel  well,  things  happen  as  though  he  exteriorised  no  force 
whatever.  It  is  the  same  thing  with  the  sitters,  but  in  a  lesser 
degree ;  in  the  latter  case  it  suffices  to  eliminate  the  experimenter 
who  feels  ill, 

3.  Mental  condition  of  the  medium  and  sitters.^  Ill-humour, 
anxiety,  sadness — especially  a  sadness  without  any  specific  cause, 
a  kind  of  mental  discomfort — are  prejudicial.  Joy,  gaiety  are 
often  favourable. 

4.  Nervous  exhaustion.  This  condition  is  too.  often  over- 
looked. I  have  not  unfrequently  had  occasion  to  conduct  several 
series  of  experiments  at  one  and  the  same  time.  I  generally 
noticed  that  the  results  were  not  good.     I  have  not  been  able  to 

1  There  are  apparent  exceptions  to  this  rule. 


APPENDIX  A  403 

understand  the  cause  of  this  want  of  success  ;  it  is  probably  other 
than  that  of  simple  nervous  exhaustion,  although  this  may  have 
an  action  in  prolonged  series  of  seances. 

Neither  do  seances  held  too  frequently  with  the  same  medium 
give  good  results ;  in  this  case,  nervous  exhaustion  is  certainly 
in  play. 

The  English  experimenters  do  not  appear  to  have  taken  these 
diverse  elements  into  consideration ;  I  am  persuaded  the  results 
of  their  investigations  would  have  been  different  had  they 
shunned  *  paid  mediums,'  and  sought  for  fresh  or  undeveloped 
mediums,  persons  uninfluenced  by  private  considerations,  intelli- 
gent and  capable  of  bringing  a  correct  analysis  of  their  subjective 
impressions  into  the  research.  These  mediums  are  rare,  but 
they  are  to  be  found. 

None  of  these  conditions  were  fulfilled  by  the  Sidgwick  group. 
These  experimenters,  acting  with  the  best  of  intentions,  took  a 
wrong  course.  Eglinton,  Slade,  Haxby,  have  perhaps  been 
genuine  mediums  in  their  time,  but  as  soon  as  they  made  it  a 
business  to  give  regular  seances,  they  were  at  once  prepared  to 
give  fraudulent  phenomena  with  regularity.  At  Newcastle,  the 
group  operated  at  one  and  the  same  time  with  Miss  Fairlamb 
and  with  Miss  Wood.  These  two  parallel  series  of  experiments 
could  not  help  being  prejudicial  one  to  the  other,  even  if  these 
two  mediums  had  been  honest,  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  case,  judging  from  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  account. 

I  cannot  think  of  discussing  in  detail  all  the  experiments  of 
the  Sidgwick  group  ;  but  I  will  study  their  experiments  with 
Eusapia  Paladino  at  Cambridge  more  carefully,  for  their  judg- 
ment on  this  medium  appears  to  me  unjustified.  Every  one 
knows  under  what  conditions  Messrs.  Myers,  Hodgson,  Sidg- 
wick, etc.,  invited  Eusapia  to  England,  in  order  to  resume 
experiments  previously  made  with  her  at  Ribaud.  These 
experiments  had  obtained  a  favourable  report  from  Dr.  Lodge  ; 
Mr.  Myers  and  Mr.  Sidgwick  associated  themselves  with  Dr. 
Lodge's  conclusions.  Dr.  Hodgson — who  is  a  doctor  of  law 
and  not  a  doctor  of  medicine,  as  some  people  suppose — criticised 


404        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  experiments  summarised  by  Dr.  Lodge.  He  was  met  with 
the  reply  that  his  criticisms  contained  nothing  new  ;  that  what 
he  said  had  been  already  pointed  out  by  Richet  and  others,  and 
that  the  experimenters  were  acquainted  with  every  possible 
system  of  fraud  ;  that  the  substitution  of  one  hand  for  another, 
the  substitution  of  an  artificial  foot  for  the  medium's  foot,  were 
well-known  systems  of  imposture,  against  which  every  pre- 
caution had  been  taken.  Nevertheless,  and  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  report  had  been  drawn  up  by  such  competent 
men  as  Richet,  Ochorowicz,  Lodge,  and  Myers,  it  was  criticised 
with  an  undeniable  appearance  of  logic  and  justice  by  Hodgson  : 
the  latter  reproached  them  for  insufficiently  describing  the 
manner  in  which  the  diverse  controls  were  ensured,  for  omitting 
to  dwell  upon  the  precautions  which  were  taken,  and  for  the 
lack  of  a  minute  description  of  all  the  movements  of  the  medium. 
In  his  article  {^ournaly  vii.  49)  he  expressly  says : — 

'  Professor  Lodge  makes  the  following  declaration  concerning 
the  raising  of  the  table  : — 

'"It  appears  to  me  impossible  for  any  person  to  lift  a  table  of 
this  size  and  weight  while  standing  up  to  it,  with  hands  only 
on  top,  without  plenty  of  leg  action,  and  considerable  strength 
and  pressure  of  hands.  It  was  quite  beyond  the  possibility  of 
Eusapia." 

'  Now  let  us  suppose,*  continues  Hodgson,  '  that  Eusapia 
used  a  form  of  support  which,  with  some  variation  or 
other,  I  fancy  is  not  altogether  unknown  in  the  Italian  race. 
Let  us  suppose  that  she  had,  next  to  her  body,  a  light  strong 
band  round  her  shoulders  and  across  her  chest,  with  a  pendant 
attached  of  a  black  band  or  cord,  with  a  hook  or  other  catch  at 
the  end  which  could  be  tucked  out  of  sight  in  her  dress  front 
when  not  in  use.  (By  the  way,  in  a  photograph  which  I  have 
seen  of  Eusapia  at  a  sitting,  when  the  table  is  supposed  to  be 
completely  off  the  floor,  one  of  the  buttons  of  the  bosom  of  her 
dress  seems  to  be  unfastened.) 

'  She  fixed  this  catch — either  stooping  or  bending  her  legs 
slightly  outward — to  one  of  the  sideboards  of  the  table,  or  to 


APPENDIX  A  405 

some  point  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  junctures  of,  for  ex- 
ample, sideboards  and  top  of  table.  She  straightened  herself 
out,  stiffened  her  shoulders  and  her  body  back,  and  pushed 
forward  with  her  foot  against  the  leg  of  the  table,  close  to  which 
she  was  standing.  The  light  touch  of  one  of  her  hands  may 
have  helped  to  steady  the  table,  the  edge  of  which  may  also  have 
been  in  contact  with  her  body.  Was  this  hypothesis  or  any 
kindred  hypothesis  tested  by  Professor  Lodge  ? '  etc. 

This  long  quotation  shows  how  Hodgson  reasons.  Con- 
scientious savants  omitted  to  indicate,  explicitly,  in  their  report, 
that  every  hypothesis  of  fraud  had  been  studied  and  put  to  one 
side  ;  they  omitted  to  analyse  each  hypothesis,  because  their 
implicit  affirmation  of  the  reality  of  the  fact  appeared  sufficient 
to  them,  and  a  detailed  examination  of  each  hypothesis  would 
have  given  exaggerated  dimensions  to  their  report.  No  matter. 
Analysts  like  Dr.  Hodgson  will  not  spare  them,  and  will  not 
hesitate  to  indicate  hypotheses,  even  those  the  least  compatible 
with  the  conditions  of  observation. 

However,  the  Cambridge  experiments  were  decided  upon,  and 
although  Hodgson  had  taken  a  decided  stand  in  the  matter,  he 
was  invited  to  assist.  These  experiments  gave  bad  results,  and 
Sidgwick  was  able  to  say,  in  spite  of  the  contrary  observations 
of  other  experimenters,  who  were  his  colleagues  in  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research  {journal  S.  P.  R.,  vii.  230):  *It  will 
be  seen  that  at  our  last  meeting  a  question  was  asked  with 
regard  to  "  phenomena "  obtained  by  Eusapia  Paladino  sub- 
sequent to  the  exposure  of  her  frauds  at  Cambridge.  It  may 
be  well  that  I  should  briefly  state  why  I  do  not  intend  to  give 
any  account  of  these  phenomena. 

'It  has  not  been  the  practice  of  the  Society  for  Psychical 
Research  to  direct  attention  to  the  performances  of  any 
so-called  "  medium  "  who  has  been  proved  guilty  of  systematic 
fraud.  Now,  the  investigation  at  Cambridge,  of  which  the 
results  are  given  in  the  ^Journal  for  November  1895,  taken 
in  connection  with  an  article  by  Professor  Richet  in  the 
Annales   des    Sciences    PsychiqueSy   for  January -February    1893, 


4o6        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

placed  beyond  reasonable  doubt  the  facts  that  the  frauds  dis- 
covered (sic)  by  Dr.  Hodgson  at  Cambridge,  had  been 
systematically  practised  by  Eusapia  Paladino  for  years.  In 
accordance,  therefore,  with  our  established  custom,  I  propose 
to  ignore  her  performances  for  the  future,  as  I  ignore  those  of 
other  persons  engaged  in  the  same  mischievous  trade.' 

Such  a  judgment  made  a  considerable  and  lamentable  stir  :  if 
it  were  exact,  it  was  just  to  pronounce  it ;  if  it  were  not 
thoroughly  exact,  Sidgwick  should  have  suspended  his  verdict. 
This  is  what  Myers  advised — this  is  what  Lodge  and  Richet 
advised.  But  the  experimenters  who  followed  Hodgson's  im- 
pulse did  not  do  this.  They  made  a  mistake,  and  subsequent 
events  have  proved  they  were  wrong. 

I  have  said  that  their  judgment  was  not  quite  accurate. 
Professor  Sidgwick  said,  addressing  a  general  meeting  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research  on  the  nth  October  1895 
{Journal  S.  P.  R.,  vii.  131)  :— 

'  I  consider  it  to  be  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  medium 
used  systematic  trickery  throughout  this  series  of  sittings.  Her 
modus  operandi  I  will  leave  to  Dr.  Hodgson  to  describe,  who — 
though  only  present  during  a  part  of  the  sittings — has  had 
better  opportunities  for  personally  observing  the  actual  process 
of  fraud.  When  this  trickery  was  discovered,  the  greater  part 
of  the  phenomena  offered  as  supernormal  at  these  sittings  were 
at  once  explained ;  and,  this  being  so,  I  think  it,  in  the  circum- 
stances, unreasonable  to  attribute — even  hypothetically — to 
supernormal  agency  the  residuum  that  was  not  so  easily 
explicable.  And  considering  the  great  general  resemblance 
between  the  performances  of  the  medium  at  these  sittings  and 
those  I  witnessed  last  year,  I  am  now  disposed  to  think  that  my 
earlier  experiences  are  to  be  similarly  explained  ;  I  therefore 
wish  to  withdraw  altogether  the  limited  and  guarded  support 
which  I  gave  last  year  to  the  supernormal  pretensions  of  Eusapia 
Paladino.' 

So  Sidgwick  declares  that  his  former  experiments  were  null 
and  void,  as  everything  could  be  explained  by  trickery  ! 


APPENDIX  A  407 

Hodgson,  at  that  same  general  meeting,  explained  the  means 
used  by  Eusapia,  the  surreptitious  freeing  of  foot  and  hand,  and 
some  simple  apparatus  such  as  a  handkerchief  and  a  small  object, 
such  as  a  coin  or  a  piece  of  paper,  covered  with  some  phos- 
phorescent preparation.  Hodgson — and  Myers  reminded  him 
of  this — forgot  to  say  that  he  had  invented  nothing,  and  that 
these  trick  devices  had  been  discovered  and  previously  pointed 
out  by  others,  notably  by  Richet,  who  has  often  experimented 
with  Eusapia  Paladino.  Sidgwick  remarks  that  a  portion  of  the 
phenomena  are  not  easily  explicable  by  fraud.  It  would  have 
been  interesting  to  know  which.  I  suspect  that  certain  levita- 
tions  were  among  the  number  of  these  phenomena.  But  the 
notes  published  in  the  Journal  S,  P.  R.,  vii.  148,  only 
mention  attouchements,  and  it  is  advisable  to  limit  the  discussion 
to  this  fact,  though  it  appears  to  me  the  least  demonstrative. 

Let  us  take  the  seance  of  the  ist  September.  We  read  p.  153  : 
'7.25. — R.  H.  says,  phenomenon  preparing.  Enormous  hand 
shaking  Mrs.  M,\  head^  hand  clearly  felt,  H.  S.,  hand  well  held, 
but  not  completely.  R.  H.  has  hand  completely  held,  gap  and 
then  grasp  again.  Hand  holds  H.  S.  well.  Right  hand,  thumb 
and  finger  clutch  R.  H.  (On  nearly  all  occasions  after  the  first 
few  hand-touch  phenomena,  I  informed  the  sitters  of  a  coming 
phenomenon  in  some  such  words  as  that  a  phenomenon  was 
preparing,  before  the  phenomenon  actually  occurred,  and  usually 
immediately  prior  to  its  occurrence.  I  made  this  announcement 
as  a  rule  when  I  felt  the  right  hand  leaving  mine,  but  some- 
times when  I  felt  it  preparing  to  leave.  After  the  phenomenon 
was  over,  and  the  hand  returned,  I  described  usually  what  I  felt 
at  the  moment  of  my  description,  so  that  E.  might  not  become 
aware,  through  some  partial  appreciation  of  my  English,  that  I 
knew  that  her  hand  was  away  from  mine  during  the  production 
of  the  phenomenon.  In  some  cases,  when  it  was  necessary,  I 
added  a  few  words  about  the  state  of  holding  during  the  pheno- 
menon.) ' 

I  confess  that  I  do  not  understand.  Hodgson  has  shown  him- 
self so  severe  for  others,  that  he  will  not  be  annoyed  with  me 


4o8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

for  exacting  the  same  precision  from  him  that  he  requires  of 
others.  Now,  in  the  passage  quoted,  we  read  :  first,  that  Mrs. 
Myers  is  touched  by  an  enormous  hand,  a  hand  which  is  '  clearly 
felt.'  Either  it  is  Eusapia's  hand,  released  by  Hodgson,  in  which 
case  it  ought  to  be  small^  for  Eusapia's  hand  is  small,  or  Mrs. 
Myers  did  not  '  clearly  feel '  the  hand  which  shook  her.  If  Mrs. 
Myers  has  correctly  described  her  impression,  then  Hodgson 
makes  a  mistake  in  seeming  to  indicate  that  it  is  Eusapia's  hand 
which  touched  Mrs.  M. ;  if  not,  then  Mrs.  M.  has  made  a 
mistake.  At  any  rate,  there  is  a  contradiction  here  between  the 
two  observers. 

Sidgwick  acknowledges  that  Eusapia's  tricks  do  not  explain 
everything,  yet  he  allows  Hodgson  to  expatiate  complacently 
upon  fraudulent  attouchements.  The  learned  lawyer  even 
mimicked  Eusapia's  tricks  for  freeing  her  hands  and  feet  before 
members  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  But  all  this  was 
already  known  by  Continental  specialists.  Hodgson  had  invented 
nothing  ;  why  did  he  confine  himself  to  partial  criticisms  ?  why 
did  he  not  discuss  each  fact,  and  especially  those  which  appeared 
inexplicable  ?  He  is  very  severe  with  Eusapia  ;  why  not  treat  her 
as  he  treats  Mrs.  Piper  ?  He  carefully  discusses  the  Neapolitan's 
errors  and  attempts  ;  but  does  he  think  that  there  is  no  conscious 
or  unconscious  fraud  with  the  American  medium,  and  that  defunct 
Phinuit  is  alone  responsible  for  the  inaccuracies  and  falsehoods 
observed  in  Mrs.  Piper's  mediumship,  whilst  Eusapia's  fraud  is 
conscious  and  voluntary  ? 

As  far  as  his  experiments  with  Eusapia  Paladino  are  concerned, 
I  will  reply  to  him  that,  in  a  great  measure,  he  and  his  friends  were 
responsible  for  her  frauds,  and  almost  wholly  responsible  for  the 
failure  of  the  experiments.  They  appear  to  have  neglected  the 
psychological  side  of  a  medium's  role,  and  forgot  that  a  medium 
is  not  a  mechanical  instrument. 

Eusapia  was  not  at  her  ease,  and,  if  my  memory  serves  me 
right,  she  found  the  Cambridge  centre  rather  disdainful  and 
haughty,  save  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers.  She  was  dull  and  lonely. 
I  think  she  was  not  admitted  to  the  same  table.     But  I  will  not 


APPENDIX  A  409 

affirm  this  detail ;  it  seems  to  me  she  told  me,  she  was  usually 
served  apart  from  the  members  of  the  household. 

The  seancef  were  too  numerous  (there  were  twenty  seances 
held  in  less  than  seven  weeks — a  seance  every  other  day)  if  we 
take  into  consideration  her  not  being  very  well,  and  consequently 
unfit  for  anything  for  a  few  days.  This  was  making  sure  of 
bad  results,  especially  as  the  seances  sometimes  lasted  two  and 
a  half  to  three  hours.  It  was  impossible  for  the  medium  to 
recruit  her  strength  physically  or  morally,  especially  in  a  countr)' 
where  the  manners,  life,  language,  and  even  the  cooking  were 
so  different  from  those  at  Naples.  She  was  not  well  when  in 
England.  Was  she  long  ill  ?  I  cannot  say  ;  but  I  can  affirm 
that  she  did  not  go  home  satisfied. 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  first  seances  were  pretty  good  ; 
there  were  some  suspicious  things,  as  is  often  the  case  with 
Eusapia.  Hodgson's  arrival  changed  everything  :  it  was  then 
that  fraud  was  discovered,  but  a  long  time  after  Richet  and 
Toselli  had  pointed  it  out. 

How  did  Hodgson  go  to  work  ?  He  appears  to  have  con- 
ceived the  singular  idea  not  to  control  Eusapia  at  all,  and  to 
leave  at  her  free  disposal  the  hand  he  was  supposed  to  hold. 
Every  time  he  ceased  to  feel  the  contact  of  her  hand,  he  announced 
a  phenomenon  ;  the  phenomenon  produced,  he  related  his  im- 
pressions in  English  to  his  co-experimenters.  These  were  two 
capital  mistakes.  The  first  passed  even  unconscious  fraud  :  for 
though  severe  control  sometimes  stops  the  phenomena,  at  least 
it  effectually  prevents  trickery.  The  second,  by  arousing 
Eusapia's  jealous  susceptibility,  was  bound  to  worry  and  irritate 
her.  These  considerations  may  appear  to  be  secondary  to  persons, 
who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  difficulties  which  the  observa- 
tion of  psychical  phenomena  present ;  those  who  are  familiar 
with  them  will  not  gainsay  me.  However,  if  the  Cambridge 
experimenters  had  not  gone  any  further  than  this,  we  might 
excuse  them,  and  simply  consider  they  had  blundered  touching 
the  necessary  conditions  ;  but  they  went  further.  They  invited 
to  the  seances  Messrs.  Maskelyne,  father  and  son.     These  men, 


4IO       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  well-known  directors  of  the  Egyptian  Hall  in  London,  have 
made  it  a  speciality  of  producing  by  conjuring  the  phenomena 
called  *  spiritistic' 

Mr.  Maskelyne,  senior,  did  not  conceal  his  bias,  to  judge  by 
his  letters  in  the  Daily  Chronicle  (29th  Oct.  1895,  and  following 
days).  This  conjurer  explained  certain  levitations  in  a  singular 
fashion.  A  small  table  had  been  carried  on  to  the  seance-table. 
According  to  Maskelyne,  Eusapia  had  seized  it  with  her  teeth 
by  bending  backwards,  and  by  this  feat  of  dental  strength  had 
herself  carried  and  placed  the  smaller  table  on  the  larger  one  ! 
Mr.  Maskelyne  felt  the  movement,  just  as  Dr.  Hodgson 
felt  he  had  lost  the  contact  of  the  hand,  when  a  phenomenon 
was  going  to  be  produced.  From  this  negative  observation, 
Mr.  Maskelyne,  like  Hodgson,  deducts  the  positive  conclusion, 
that  the  phenomenon  was  normally  and  fraudulently  produced. 
I  retain  Mr.  Maskelyne's  affirmation,  that  the  backward 
movement  Eusapia  made  when  the  small  table  was  carried  on 
to  the  larger  one,  revealed  her  method  to  him.  Hodgson 
has  the  same  impression  as  the  conjurer.  In  concluding  as 
they  do,  they  both  forget  this  circumstance,  often  observed 
with  the  Italian  medium,  that  synchronous  movements  of  her 
limbs  accompany  the  phenomenon.  If  Mr.  Maskelyne  is  ex- 
cusable in  not  having  studied  and  examined  this  circumstance, 
Dr.  Hodgson,  well  acquainted  with  psychical  matters,  is  un- 
pardonable in  having  neglected  it.  This  omission  is  a  funda- 
mental gap  in  his  reasoning ;  and  I  think  it  robs  it  of  all  serious 
value. 

Let  us  take  another  example  in  the  rare  indications  given  by 
the  Cambridge  experimenters  (Extracts  from  report  of  seance 
of  1st  Sept.  1895,  7<?«r«^/,  vii.  1 51-153): — ['The  Report  consists 
of  notes  taken  by  Mr.  Myers  at  the  time  from  the  dictation  of 
the  sitters,  with  supplementary  statements  added  by  some  of 
the  sitters  afterwards  ;  these  are  placed  in  square  brackets,  and 
all  except  those  to  which  Mrs.  Sidgwick's  initials  are  appended 
were  written  by  Dr.  Hodgson  on  Sept.  2nd  and  3rd.  The 
italics  refer  to  the  descriptions  of  phenomena,  the  ordinary  type 


APPENDIX  A 


411 


to   the    conditions    of    holding,   etc.].      [Sitters    arranged    as 
follows : — 

F.  D.  Mrs.  S. 


E.  P. 


Miss  S. 


R.  H. 


H.  S. 


'  Mrs.  Myers  goes  under  the  table,  has  the  medium's  feet  on 
palms  of  hands  far  apart.] 

*7.  6.  Three  knocks  [which  sounded  as  if  made  on  the  top  of 
the  table].  Right  hand  lies  across  R.  H.  and  holds  H.  S.'s  three 
fingers  with  at  least  two.  Left  hand  holds  F.  D.  and  Mrs.  S. 
Three  movements  made  with  left  hand  beforehand.  Knees  not 
moved  and  feet  held  tight.  [Medium  was  asked  to  repeat  this 
phenomenon.] 

*7.  7.  Three  knocks^  rather  loud  and  dull  [resembling  the  pre- 
ceding]. Right  hand  moving,  holding  H.  S.'s  and  R.  H.'s. 
Left  hand  well  off  the  table  ;  holding  satisfactory,  held  by  F.  D. 
and  Mrs.  S.     Feet  well  held,  knees  not  moved. 

*  [Both  series  of  three  knocks  were  doubtless  produced  by 
Eusapia's  head.  On  the  second  occasion,  I  succeeded  in  getting 
her  head  between  me  and  a  slight  light  from  the  curtains  behind, 
and  observed  the  motion  of  her  head  part  of  the  way  forward 
and  back.  She  moved  her  right  hand,  with  H.  S.'s  hand  and 
mine,  forward,  outward,  and  upward  somewhat,  and  possibly 
made  a  similar  movement  with  her  left  hand,  thus  giving  herself 
a  free  space  to  bend  her  head  forward  and  down,  and  at  the  same 
time  having  the  hands  which  were  holding  hers,  in  a  position 
from  which  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  grab.]  [And  had 
practically  six  hands  out  of  the  way  of  an  accidental  contact  with 
her  head.     E.  M.  S.].' 


412        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Such  is  the  proces-verhal.  Dr.  Hodgson,  I  repeat,  has  been  so 
severe  with  others,  that  he  will  forgive  me  for  being  exigent 
with  him. 

Is  it  admissible  to  reason  in  this  way  ?  to  consider  that  she 
has,  perhaps^  made  a  movement  with  the  left  hand  similar  to  the 
one  effected  with  the  right  hand,  and  afterwards  to  hold  that 
supposition  as  a  demonstrated  fact  ?  Should  he  not  have  remem- 
bered that  such  a  movement,  in  a  big  woman  like  Eusapia,  cannot 
be  easily  made  without  her  arms  betraying  the  movement  of  the 
spinal  column,  and  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  without  the  knees 
revealing  the  movement  of  the  body  ? 

Now,  the  knee  did  not  move ;  and  Hodgson  points  out  no 
movement  of  the  arm. 

The  movement  of  the  head  might  have  been  one  of  those 
synchronous  movements  of  which  I  have  spoken.  Dr.  Hodgson 
has  omitted  to  consider  this  hypothesis. 

To  sum  up,  limiting  ourselves  simply  to  published  docu- 
ments, we  see  that  the  English  experimenters  paid  no  attention 
to  the  conditions  under  which  it  is  expedient  to  operate,  that 
they  tired  out  the  medium,  surrounded  her  with  elements 
of  suspicion,  encouraged  her  to  fraud — Dr.  Hodgson  especially 
— and  finally  concealed  from  her  the  severe  judgment  they 
had  formed  about  her.  As  Richet  says,  the  Cambridge 
experiments  prove  only  one  thing,  which  is,  that  in  that 
particular  series  of  seances  Eusapia  frauded  with  her  well- 
known  methods,  but  it  is  rash  to  conclude  thereupon  that  she 
has  always  frauded.^ 

^  ^  A  Cambridge  Eusapia  pendant  une  s^rie  de  seances  a  fraude  wuec  ses  precedes  connus, 
Voila  la  premiere  conclusion.  Et  voici  la  seconde.  En  mettant  Eusapia  dans  Pimpossi- 
bilite'  defrauder^  pendant  cette  meme  serie  d* expediences  de  Cambridgey  Eusapia  n'a  pas  pu 
produire  un  seul  phenotnene  njrai  .  .  . 

*I1  me  parait  qu'il  est  temeraire  de  conclure  que  tous  les  phenomenes  produits  ou 
presumes  produits  par  Eusapia  sont  faux.  .  .  .  Sous  des  influences  morales  et  psycho- 
logiques  dont  la  nature  nous  echappe,  pendant  un  tres  long  temps  Eusapia  est  incapable 
de  pouvoir  exercer  une  action  vraie  quelconque,  et  peut-etre,  a  Cambridge  elle  s'est 
trouvee  dans  ces  conditions  .  .  .  J'en  conclus  qu'il  n'y  a  encore  rien  de  demontre,  ni 
dans  un  sens,  ni  dans  I'autre,  et  qu'il  faut  courageusement  poursuivre  la  recherche  5  et 
experimenter  encore.' — Charles  Richet.     {Journal  S.  P.  22.,  vii.  179.) 


APPENDIX  A 


413 


The  analysis  of  the  documents  published  permits  me  to 
ascertain  : — 

1.  Demonstration  of  fraud  in  certain  hypothetical  cases. 

2.  Omission  to  indicate  if  the  medium  was  conscious  or  in 

trance. 

3.  Omission  to  discuss  phenomena  non-explicable  by  fraud. 

4.  Apparent  contradiction   between  Dr.  Hodgson's  state- 

ments and  those  of  other  experimenters. 

5.  Omission  to  analyse  if  Eusapia*s  suspicious  movements 

were  not  muscular  movements  synchronous  with  the 
phenomena.  This  omission  is  capital,  and  demon- 
strates the  relative  inexperience  of  the  Cambridge 
group. 

6.  Evident  bias  of  Dr.   Hodgson,  who  had   taken   up  a 

decided  stand,  and  treated  Eusapia's  phenomena  as 
fraudulent  before  having  seen  them. 

In  a  word,  the  Cambridge  experimenters  operated  under  bad 
conditions :  they  could  not  obtain  any  good  results  by  acting  as 
they  did.  But,  even  under  these  wretched  conditions,  they 
ought  to  have  received  some  veridical  phenomena,  and  the 
reading  of  their  publications  leads  us  to  presume  they  did  receive 
some.  In  any  case,  their  report  does  not  demonstrate  that 
everything  was  explicable  by  fraud,  and  is  not  sufficient  to 
justify  the  sweeping  judgment  they  brought  to  bear  upon 
Eusapia  Paladino. 

Now,  if  we  compare  the  Cambridge  results  with  those  ob- 
tained by  other  experimenters,  the  conclusion  we  draw  from 
these  documents  becomes  more  precise.  I  refer  my  readers  to 
the  reports  of  the  experiments  at  Milan  [Ann.  des  Sc.  Psych. ^ 
1893),  and  at  I'Agnelas  [Ibid,  1896).  I  will  only  dwell  upon  my 
personal  experience  with  Eusapia.  I  experimented  with  this 
medium  in  1895,  1896,  and  1897,  and  I  obtained  undeniable 
phenomena  with  her. 

Like  other  Continental  experimenters,  I  tried  to  put  Eusapia 
at  her  ease,  to  win  her  confidence  and  sympathy  j  and  the 
results  of  my  seances  were  convincing. 


414        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

At  I'Agnelas,  out  of  seance  hours,  and  in  full  light,  I  saw  the 
table  raised  to  the  height  of  my  forehead.  Every  one  was 
standing  up,  Eusapia's  hands  were  held  and  seen  ;  her  left  hand, 
held  by  me,  rested  on  the  right  angle  of  the  table. 

At  Choisy,  in  1897,  we  received  doubtful  phenomena,  notably 
the  apport  of  a  carnation  which  appeared  most  suspicious  to  us  ; 
but  we  spoke  openly  of  our  doubts  to  Eusapia.  At  other  times 
the  phenomena  were  of  extraordinary  intensity.  One  afternoon, 
Sunday,  nth  October,  all  the  sitters,  even  those  furthest  away 
from  the  medium,  were  touched. 

But  it  was  at  Bordeaux,  perhaps,  in  1897  that  the  phenomena 
were  most  intense.  I  find  in  my  notes — which  are  not,  and 
make  no  claim  to  be,  reports — the  following  recital : — 

'  P.  is  vigorously  touched.  Eusapia  gives  him  the  control  of  her 
hands  and  feet.  P.  receives  slaps  in  the  back  every  time  Eusapia 
presses  his  foot.  The  noise  is  distinctly  heard.  P.'s  chair  is 
shaken  and  drawn  from  under  him.  Eusapia  rubs  her  feet  on 
the  floor,  to  give  fluid,  she  says.  Finally  P.'s  chair  is  slowly 
carried  on  to  the  seance-table.  The  persons  (Dr.  Denuce, 
Madame  A.,  and  I)  for  whom  P.  is  between  the  table  and  the 
window  (a  light  from  outside  streams  through  the  Persian 
shutters)  see  the  chair  very  clearly  outhned  on  the  window  (a 
large  bay,  six  feet  wide).  After  having  been  placed  on  the 
table,  the  chair  is  taken  back  to  the  floor,  and,  a  second  time, 
carried  on  to  the  table.  The  movements  were  slowly  produced ; 
while  they  were  being  produced,  the  hands,  feet,  and  head  of  the 
medium  were  under  control.  If  any  part  of  the  medium's  body 
had  touched  the  chair,  the  contact  would  have  been  seen  on  the 
silhouette  of  the  chair,  the  latter  standing  out  well  against  the 
lighted-up  window.  While  the  chair  is  in  movement  P.  is 
crouching  down  on  his  heels ;  he  is  touched  on  the  back,  his 
garments  are  pulled,  he  is  tickled  ;  at  the  same  time  the  table  is 
levitated.      These  three  manifestations  were  produced  simultaneously.^ 

This  phenomenon  is,  perhaps,  the  most  convincing  Eusapia 
has  given  me  in  demi-obscurity  5  it  was  impossible  to  produce 
these  three  manifestations  simultaneously  with  a  free  hand  and 


APPENDIX  A  415 

foot  (admitting  there  had  been  substitution)  :  knowing  the 
possible  frauds,  I  had  indicated  to  my  co-experimenters  Eusapia's 
ordinary  tricks.  Moreover,  Dr.  Denuce  and  P.,  a  barrister  at 
Bordeaux,  were  both  au  courant  with  the  usual  frauds,  and  were 
experienced  experimenters.  I  draw  special  attention  to  the 
visibility  of  the  chair  suspended  in  the  air.  We  only  saw  the 
outline  of  the  chair,  but  we  saw  it  plainly. 

Here  is  another  levitation  obtained  under  conditions  which 
exclude  every  device  pointed  out  by  Messrs.  Hodgson  and 
Maskelyne :  teeth,  strap,  hook,  foot,  hand  holding  the  table, 
pressure  of  the  knees,  etc.  : — 

'Afterwards  Eusapia  makes  us  get  up.  She  pulls  the  table 
into  the  centre  of  the  room  (telling  us  she  is  doing  this  herself). 
She  invites  M.  to  hold  her  feet ;  M.  goes  under  the  table. 
Eusapia  becomes  impatient,  and  says  to  him  "^zV/r^"  because  the 
table  would  hurt  her ;  M.  stoops  down  behind  Eusapia,  and 
seizes  her  by  the  feet.  Eusapia  then  says  she  is  going  to  raise 
the  table  without  touching  it.  A  circle  is  made  around  the 
table,  which,  after  several  oscillations,  rises  up  vertically.  The 
top  of  the  table  reaches  as  high  as  our  foreheads. 

*  A  second  time  the  table  is  levitated  under  the  same  conditions, 
and  to  the  same  height.  The  experimenters  are  all  standing  up 
around  the  table,  and  no  hand  at  all  touches  it.* 

The  table  stood  out  plainly  against  the  window.  It  would 
have  been  easy  to  see  the  limb  or  instrument  which  was  in 
contact  with  it,  had  there  been  any  such  contact. 

Professor  Sidgwick  '  often  asked  Eusapia — or  rather  John — to 
favour  him  with  a  hand-grasp  when  he  was  holding  the  two 
hands  of  the  medium  in  his  two  hands,  since  he  regarded  this  as 
the  only  mode  of  holding  the  hands  which  could  ever  be  per- 
fectly satisfactory  to  him.'  He  solicited  in  vain.  Now  we 
obtained  this  phenomenon  frequently  :  — 

'  Eusapia  takes  Dr.  D.'s  two  hands,  and  gives  him  her  two 
hands  to  control.  Under  these  conditions  Dr.  D.  is  touched. 
Eusapia  does  the  same  thing  with  P.,  who  is  several  times 
touched.' 


41 6        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Here  are  some  phenomena  obtained  with  a  bright  green  light. 
'  One  side  of  the  table  rises  up,  followed  by  two  good  levitations  : 
the  table  is  levitated  to  a  height  of  about  one  foot  six  inches,  and 
remains  from  two  to  three  seconds  in  the  air.  Eusapia's  hands 
are  well  controlled  and  visible ;  her  feet  do  not  move.  The 
feet  of  the  table  (visible  to  me)  are  not  in  contact  with  Eusapia's 
dress  during  the  levitation.  I  see  the  dress  distinctly ;  it  is 
motionless.  When  the  levitation  took  place  no  hand  was 
touching  the  table.' 

Finally,  here  is  a  crucial  experiment,  an  account  of  which 
M.  de  Rochas  has  published  in  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Psychiques 
in  1898.  At  that  moment  I  still  suspended  my  judgment,  not 
that  my  opinion  with  regard  to  the  phenomena  produced  by 
Eusapia  and  verified  by  me  was  uncertain,  but  because  I  wished 
to  study  other  mediums  before  pronouncing  my  judgment.  My 
studies  are  now  sufficiently  complete,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
observation  of  these  facts,  to  permit  me  to  declare  my  opinion. 
The  reasons  of  prudence,  which  led  me  to  beg  M.  de  Rochas  to 
withhold  my  name  from  his  report,  no  longer  exist.  Here  is  the 
extract  from  my  notes  made  at  the  time  of  the  experiment : — 

'I  had  bought,  during  the  day,  a  letter-balance,  which  I 
brought  to  the  seance.  Eusapia  makes  us  sit  for  two  or  three 
minutes  with  our  hands  on  the  table.  Then  she  approaches  her 
hands  to  the  letter-balance,  placing  her  left  hand  on  top  of 
Dr.  D.'s  right  hand.  Dr.  D.  mentions  the  sensation  of  a  cold 
breeze,  which  ceases  and  recommences.  Eusapia's  hands  are  at 
about  fifteen  centimetres  away  from  the  letter-balance.  She 
makes  two  or  three  ascending  and  descending  movements  with 
her  hands,  palm  directed  downwards.  At  the  second  movement 
the  letter-balance  is  pushed  to  the  limit  of  its  course,  requiring 
for  this  a  force  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy  grammes. 
Eusapia  takes  P.'s  left  hand,  and  tries  the  experiment  with  him. 
She  asks  if  he  feels  the  cool  breeze.  In  a  few  seconds  P.  feels  it 
over  the  third  and  fourth  fingers.  (P.'s  left  hand  is  under  the 
medium's  right  hand.)  The  tray  is  lowered,  and  the  hand  stops 
at  the  division  20. 


APPENDIX  A  417 

'Eusapia  takes  Dr.  D's  hand  again.  She  forms  a  triangle 
with  her  hands.  Dr.  D.  has  always  his  right  hand  in  Eusapia's 
left.  The  latter's  hands  are  about  fifteen  centimetres  away  from 
one  another,  and  about  ten  centimetres  away  from  the  edge  of 
the  apparatus.  The  tray  of  the  latter  is  lowered  ;  the  hand 
marks  90  grammes,  and  slowly  returns  to  o  ;  in  the  two  pre- 
ceding experiments  it  had  returned  abruptly. 

'  Eusapia  tries  to  raise  the  scale.  She  directs  her  hands  palms 
upwards.     The  scale  raises  itself. 

*  P.  puts  a  black  pocket-book  weighing  seventy  grammes  on 
the  tray.  Eusapia  begins  the  last  experiment  over  again.  After 
two  or  three  movements  of  her  hands,  palms  upwards,  the  tray 
is  raised  to  its  uttermost  limit.' 

These  experiments  were  made  in  a  good  green  light. 

In  conclusion,  we  never  hesitated  to  act  openly  with  Eusapia, 
telling  her  what  we  thought.  For  example,  at  one  time,  in 
obscurity,  Eusapia  drew  the  table  to  her  without  announcing 
it  was  she  who  did  it.  P.  immediately  said  :  '  It  is  the  medium 
who's  drawing  the  table.'  Eusapia  was  not  annoyed,  and  said 
that  P.  was  right  to  speak  of  what  he  noticed. 

These  experiments  at  Choisy  and  Bordeaux,  in  the  course  of 
which  there  were  both  good  and  bad  seances,  convinced  me  that 
I  had  not  been  the  victim  of  illusion  at  I'Agnelas  in  M.  de  Rochas' 
house. 

My  judgment  will  convince  no  one.  In  such  matters  we 
must  see  for  ourselves  in  order  to  be  convinced.  Mr.  Hodgson 
himself  knows  this  to-day.  My  testimony  contradicts  formally 
and  explicitly  the  conclusions  of  the  Cambridge  investigators. 
Eusapia  does  not  always  defraud  ;  with  us,  she  rarely  defrauded. 

Let  me  terminate  this  discussion  with  Richet's  words  :  '  Mal- 
gre  les  apparences  qui  sont  en  effet  souvent  contre  Eusapia,  je 
ne  suis  fixe  en  aucune  maniere  sur  ce  que  j'ai  appele  jusqu'ici 
fraude.  ...  II  est  possible,  que  dans  I'etat  de  trance,  ou  dans 
les  etats  voisins,  la  psychologie  d'un  medium  soit  tres  difFerente 
de  la  notre.' 


2  D 


41 8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 


APPENDIX  B 

I  HAVE  criticised  somewhat  lengthily  M.  Janet's  opinions : 
will  the  reader  kindly  allow  me  to  make  yet  another  incursion 
into  scientific  ground.  For  it  is  perhaps  necessary  to  reply  to 
some  objections  which  are  advanced — doubtless  in  all  sincerity 
— by  certain  savants  who  are  either  ill  informed,  or  lacking  in 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  subject.  Professor  Grasset  of  the 
university  of  Montpellier,  for  whose  talent  and  earnestness  I 
have  the  greatest  respect,  has  just  published  a  long  article  entitled 
Le  Spiritisme  et  la  Science  in  the  last  volume  of  his  Lemons  de 
clinique  medhale  (t.  iv.,  1903,  p.  374).  He  begins  by  stating 
that  he  is  going  to  take  Janet  as  his  guide,  because  the  latter's 
'luminous  ideas  are  and  remain  for  him  the  sole  scientific  basis 
now  existing  of  these  questions.*  Though  we  see  it  in  print, 
this  assertion  is  so  extraordinary,  that  we  wonder  if  we  be  not 
dreaming  when  reading  it.  Professor  Grasset,  then,  is  going  to 
take  Janet  as  a  guide,  Janet  who  has  never  seen  anything  !  It 
makes  one  think  of  the  fable,  only,  this  time,  it  is  the  blind  man 
who  climbs  on  the  paralytic's  back.  Grasset  is  going  to  deal 
with  matters  of  such  importance,  so  prolific  probably  in  new 
and  unexpected  consequences,  without  consulting  the  writers 
who  have  described  the  phenomena  he  is  going  to  study  !  The 
authors  from  whose  works  he  quotes — Jules  Bois,  Papus, 
Peladan,  Mme.  de  Thebes,  Leo  Taxil ! — have  more  to  do  with 
the  charms  of  fancy  than  with  the  gravity  of  science.  The 
task  of  refuting  their  assertions  is  far  too  easy  a  one,  and  the 
learned  professor  ought  to  have  chosen  other  and  better  repre- 
sentatives of  psychical  research.  His  argumentation  falls  short 
of  the  mark. 

Professor  Grasset's  case  is,  however,  instructive.  I  consider 
him  as  one  of  our  best-informed  scientists,  and  he  seems  to  look 
upon  psychical  research  without  prejudice.     Nobody  can  doubt 


APPENDIX  B  419 

his  earnestness,  his  learning,  his  talent ;  but,  in  spite  of  these 
qualities,  he  shows  himself  to  be  unfamiliar  with  the  serious 
work  which  has  been  done,  and  which  is  being  done  in  psychical 
matters.  When  he  quotes  Myers,  he  misquotes  him.  When 
he  discusses  the  Piper  case,  he  sums  up  the  account  given  of  the 
case  by  M.  Mangin  in  the  Annales  des  Sciences  PsychiqueSy  and 
does  not  say  a  word  of  the  careful  reports  drawn  up  by  Hodgson 
and  Hyslop.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  if  the 
professor's  statements  do  not  agree  with  the  facts.  He  does 
not  appear  to  have  studied  either  the  original  reports  or 
M.  Sage's  remarkable  summary  of  these  reports. 

Professor  Grasset  simply  says :  '  Four  months  after  the  death 
of  Mr.  Robinson  (George  Pelham),  Mrs.  Piper  gave  a  seance  in 
the  house  of  one  of  Mr.  Robinson's  friends  and  fell  into  a  trance.' 
[A  slight  mistake,  the  seance  took  place  at  Mrs.  Piper's.]  '  P.,  the 
secondary  personality,  said  that  George  Robinson  was  ready  to 
communicate ;  and  henceforth  this  spirit  took  part  in  Mrs. 
Piper's  seances  as  another  familiar  spirit.  Such  an  example 
shows  how  polygonal  incarnations  are  formed  during  the  medium's 
trance.' 

And  no  more !  Professor  Grasset  does  not  see  the  real 
problem  :  did  the  medium  show  any  knowledge  of  facts  known 
only  to  the  deceased  ?  This  is  the  problem.  The  mode  of 
formation  of  the  secondary  personality  is  but  an  accessory 
question. 

This  kind  of  reasoning  is  common  to  savants.  They  keep 
aloof  from  the  real  psychological  problem,  and  only  discuss  its 
side  issues.  I  am  sorry  to  see  a  man  of  Professor  Grasset's 
worth  fall  into  the  usual  errors,  and  pronounce  a  judgment  upon 
facts  before  thoroughly  acquainting  himself  with  those  facts. 

Professor  Grasset  speaks  of  spiritisme  scientifique  as  belonging 
to  the  realm  of  biology,  and  demanding  the  serious  attention  of 
scientists.  But  why  speak  of  spiritism  ?  Spiritism  is  a  religion, 
it  is  not  a  science  ;  it  is  the  systematic  explanation  of  the  ensemble 
of  certain  facts,  so  far  very  ill  understood,  but  it  is  not  the 
assertion  of  those  facts.     Are  the  alleged  facts  true  ?     That  is 


420        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

the  question  which  biology  has  to  examine.  Spiritism,  on  the 
contrary,  that  is  to  say,  the  ensemble  of  metaphysical  doctrines 
founded  upon  the  revelations  of  spirits,  cannot  be  considered, 
at  least  for  the  present,  as  belonging  to  biology.  I  beg 
Professor  Grasset  not  to  confound  the  impartial,  unbiased 
research  for  scientific  truth  with  spiritism. 

The  little  influence  which  the  criticism  of  savants — of  even 
the  most  renowned  among  them  —  has  had  upon  contem- 
porary thought  {e.g.  it  has  not  been  able  to  prevent  or  put  a 
stop  to  the  quest  in  the  domain  of  psychical  sciences),  is  due 
precisely  to  their  lack  of  correct  information.  They  have 
always  reasoned  beside  the  question,  analysing  the  facts  im- 
perfectly, admitting  only  those  which  they  can  easily  explain, 
and  rejecting  all  others  as  fraudulent  or  doubtful.  To  those 
who  have  studied  these  '  fraudulent  and  doubtful '  facts,  they  are 
neither  doubtful  nor  fraudulent  ,  and  the  only  effect,  which  the 
obstinate  negation  of  certain  savants  has,  is  to  rob  their  words  of 
all  serious  influence  and  value.  And  this  is  a  pity,  for  the 
savants  themselves  first  of  all,  and  afterwards  for  the  public  who, 
ill  enlightened,  become  the  prey  of  charlatans  or  the  victims  of 
illumines. 


APPENDIX  C 


It  is  to  the  kindness  of  M.  Braunschweig  that  I  owe  the 
following  story,  which  is  instructive  from  several  points  of  view. 
M.  Braunschweig,  a  retired  business  man,  intelligent  and 
highly  educated,  is  well  known  in  his  town.  The  phenomena, 
of  which  he  guarantees  the  authenticity,  have  not  been  observed 
by  me  ;  but  the  disastrous  consequences  of  his  and  M.  Vergniat's 
too  great  confidence  in  a  'spirit '  taught  him  such  a  useful  and 
serious  lesson,  that  I  thought  I  would  do  well  to  make  it  known. 


APPENDIX  C  421 

I  only  give  it  with  that  object,  for  I  cannot  personally  vouch  for 
the  extraordinary  facts  in  this  interesting  recital.  I  give  this 
recital  in  extenso  without  changing  anything,  in  order  not  to  alter 
its  physiognomy. 


A  Mystery 

Canius  Junius  when  walking  to  the  scaffold  said  to  his  friends :  '  You  ask.  me 
if  the  soul  is  immortal ;  I  am  going  to  find  out,  and  if  I  can,  I  will  return 
to  tell  you.' 

These  notes,  written  in  haste,  and,  as  it  were,  ofF-hand,  have  no 
other  claim  than  to  bring  a  few  strange  facts  together,  leaving 
every  one  free  to  appreciate  them  as  they  think  best. 

For  a  while  I  was  swayed  by  a  preoccupation  ;  I  hesitated  in 
the  face  of  incredulity,  which  thrusts  aside  all  which  is  neither 
matter  nor  number,  to  unveil  phenomena  of  the  nature  of  those 
which  have  been  verified  by  so  many  persons  already ;  but  the 
duty  imposed  upon  me  of  preserving  my  children  from  trials 
similar  to  mine,  has  triumphed  over  my  hesitation,  and  I  will 
proclaim  the  truth  without  any  fear  of  their  ever  doubting  their 
father's  veracity. 

In  writing  these  lines,  I  yield  to  a  feeling  that  the  witness  of 
mysterious  facts  ought  to  give,  in  the  interests  of  humanity  or 
science,  a  scrupulously  exact  narration  of  what  he  has  seen. 
And  particularly  so  when  his  revelations  are  likely  to  preserve 
the  inexperienced  from  the  pitfalls  of  an  occult  power  which  it 
would  be  as  senseless  to  deny  the  existence  of  as  to  doubt  of  its 
power  for  good  or  evil,  according  as  it  desires  good  or  evil.  I 
therefore  accomplish  what  I  believe  to  be  a  duty.  This  con- 
viction suffices  to  brave  the  spirit  always  more  or  less  strong, 
which  is  ever  inclined  to  deny  what  it  cannot  explain. 

The  fear  of  being  accused  of  seeking  for  sympathy,  by  relat- 
ing these  facts  of  which  I  have  been  the  victim,  might  also 
have  stopped  me  from  speaking  j  but  for  the  loss  of  a  few 
worldly  goods,  my  mind,  my  soul,  finds  ample  compensation  in 


422        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

that  certitude  of  a  future  life,  which  results  from  the  facts  the 
Master  permitted  me  to  witness. 

It  was  in  1867.  Attracted  by  the  noise  of  a  trumpet,  I 
crossed  La  Place  Saint-Andre^  and  went  down  the  dark,  narrow 
street  which,  at  that  time,  skirted  the  Cathedral,  and  where 
hric-d-brac  dealers  used  to  spread  out  their  wares.  At  the 
corner  of  the  street  Palangues,  I  came  across  a  crowd  gathered 
around  an  auctioneer  who  was  holding  a  sale  of  statuary. 

I  was  passing  on  indifferently  when  the  auctioneer  held  up  a 
statuette,  the  outlines  and  graceful  pose  of  which  immediately 
struck  my  fancy. 

Was  it  a  Virgin  ?  A  mater  dolorosa  ?  I  do  not  know.  But 
I  still  see  that  beautiful  face,  stamped  with  sadness,  the  eyes 
upraised,  two  great  tears  tremblingly  seeming  to  implore  me  to 
put  a  stop  to  this  profanation.  The  general  appearance  of  the 
statue — its  head  bent  slightly  forward- — and  the  graceful  drapery 
denoted  a  work  of  art. 

I  bought  it,  yielding  simply  to  the  desire  of  possessing  an 
artistic  work,  and  not  to  satisfy  any  religious  sentiment,  which, 
I  must  own,  did  not  exist. 

I  also  bought  a  bracket  to  support  the  statuette,  and  a  few 
minutes  afterwards,  everything  was  arranged  in  my  room.  Rue 
du  Palais  Tallien,  No.  147. 

My  wife,  Madame  Vergniat,  was  at  Perigord.  When  she 
returned  home,  she  was  surprised  to  see,  in  the  most  conspicuous 
spot  in  my  room,  a  religious  object  which  I  myself  had  bought. 

Her  surprise  was  legitimate,  for  strong  prejudices  against 
religion  left  little  room  in  my  mind  for  religious  practices. 

Nothing  strange  happened  in  that  house,  although  we  lived 
in  it  for  a  long  time  after  the  purchase  of  the  statuette.  But  I 
always  felt  such  great  pleasure  in  admiring  my  Virgin,  that  I 
have  often  wondered  whether  this  ill-defined  attraction  were 
not  the  prelude,  and,  in  some  measure,  a  first  influence  of  the 
mysterious  facts  which  were  going  to  happen. 

We  left  our  residence  in  the  Rue  du  Palais  Tallien  to  go  to  a 
house  I  had  bought  in  the  Rue  Malbec,  No.  116. 


APPENDIX  C  423 

It  was  a  detached  house  surrounded  by  a  garden  ;  it  contained 
two  bedrooms,  a  sitting-room,  and  a  vestibule  which  served  as 
a  dining-room. 

In  order  to  make  my  recital  intelligible,  I  am  obliged  to  give 
a  few  details  about  the  furniture  and  its  arrangement. 

A  night-table  separated  my  bed  from  the  fireplace.  Above 
the  table  was  a  holy-water  fount ;  above  the  latter  an  oil 
painting  representing  the  Virgin ;  finally,  near  the  ceiling,  the 
statuette  on  its  bracket. 

To  the  left  of  the  night-table,  in  the  recess  beside  the  chimney, 
there  was  a  panoply  composed  of  swords  and  sabres. 

When  we  were  settled,  Madame  Vergniat  again  visited 
Perigord.  It  was  during  her  absence  that  the  first  manifestation 
took  place,  but  I  attached  no  great  importance  to  it. 

Here  are  the  circumstances  under  which  the  phenomenon 
occurred. 

I  was  awakened  in  the  night  by  the  sound  of  a  violent  blow 
as  of  some  one  hammering  at  the  front  door.  I  promptly  lit  the 
candle,  and  looked  at  the  time ;  it  was  one  o'clock. 

This  visit  was  not  of  a  reassuring  nature,  for,  to  be  able  to 
knock  at  the  front  door  at  this  hour  of  the  night,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  leap  over  the  gate,  which,  securely  closed,  barred  access 
to  the  ho)43e. 

Before  proceeding  to  open  the  door,  I  waited  for  a  second 
knock,  but  in  vain.  I  was  awakened,  at  the  same  hour  on  the 
following  night,  by  a  similar  rap. 

The  nurse,  sleeping  with  the  children  in  the  next  room, 
hearing  the  knock,  got  frightened.  I  tried  to  reassure  her  by 
saying  :  '  To-morrow  a  loaded  gun  will  receive  the  individual  who 
takes  such  a  pleasure  in  arousing  us^ 

I  underline  these  words,  because  further  on  we  will  have  occa- 
sion of  seeing  them  repeated  in  a  surprising  manner. 

A  few  months  later,  and  without  any  new  incidents  occurring 
in  the  meantime,  our  nurse  was  discharged,  and  replaced  by  a 
strong  healthy  girl  from  the  Pyrenees. 

The  nocturnal  visit  had  been  quite  forgotten,  when  on  the 


424       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

23rd  January  1868,  Madame  Vergniat  and  the  nurse,  who 
were  busy  in  my  room,  heard  something  like  a  rustling  on  the 
window-panes,  and  saw  the  statuette  bow  twice,  as  though 
saluting  them.  At  first  they  thought  an  earthquake  had  hap- 
pened, and  when  I  entered  they  related  the  incident  to  me  in 
scared  tones. 

The  statuette  was  indeed  displaced ;  but  was  that  sufficient 
to  convince  me  ?     No. 

I  laughed  at  the  story,  convinced  that  my  wife  and  the  nurse 
were  victims  of  an  illusion. 

However,  on  the  morrow  and  following  days,  the  same  phe- 
nomena occurring  at  the  same  hour,  that  is  to  say  towards 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  determined  to  stay  at  home 
and  verify  de  visu  this  marvellous  fact. 

I  got  what  I  wanted  ;  for  on  that  day,  the  statuette  turned 
about  now  to  the  right,  now  to  the  left,  twelve  or  fourteen  times. 
Sometimes  it  advanced  and  balanced  itself  on  the  edge  of  the 
pedestal. 

The  evolution  was  so  prompt  and  so  unexpected,  that  the  eye 
could  scarcely  follow  the  movement. 

I  was  not  long  in  ascertaining  that,  before  executing  these 
movements,  the  mysterious  power  awaited  the  moment  when 
the  attention,  tired  of  remaining  on  the  qui  vive^  was  off  its 
guard.  Then  a  sharp  sounding  rap,  similar  to  the  discharge  of 
an  electric  spark,  denoted  that  the  evolution  had  taken  place. 

The  picture  hanging  under  the  statuette  lost  its  equilibrium, 
the  benitier  fell  over,  and  the  swords  swayed  about  like  so  many 
clock  pendulums. 

I  noticed  that  the  presence  of  my  wife  and  the  nurse  aided 
these  manifestations  considerably ;  I  even  noticed  that  the 
appearance  of  either  of  them  on  the  threshold  of  the  room 
sufficed  to  provoke  the  phenomena. 

I  tried  to  dissimulate  the  preoccupation  these  manifestations 
caused  me,  and  I  pretended  to  attach  no  importance  to  them, 
in  order  to  react  against  the  exaltation  and  fear  which  were 
taking   hold  of  Madame  Vergniat  and  the  nurse,  and  of  the 


APPENDIX  C  425 

two  work- women,  who  were   also  constant  witnesses  of  this 
disorder. 

But  instead  of  aiding  me  in  my  efforts,  the  Virgin  no 
longer  contented  herself  with  simple  evolutions  on  her  pedestal. 
She  began  to  let  herself  fall  down  on  the  eiderdown  of  my  bed, 
and  would  remain  buried  there  until  a  sharp  sounding  rap 
announced  that  she  had  returned  to  her  pedestal. 

In  a  short  time,  the  raps  became  more  frequent,  and  did  not 
always  indicate  displacements.  We  heard  them  on  the  doors,  on 
the  cupboards,  etc.,  and  even  in  the  middle  of  the  garden. 

Thus  on  returning  home  one  day,  such  a  formidable  rap 
resounded,  that  the  neighbours  ran  to  their  windows,  and  called 
out  to  me  :  *  Well,  M.  Vergniat,  one  would  think  you  were 
being  saluted.' 

These  facts,  already  so  extraordinary,  were  to  be  succeeded  by 
others  more  extraordinary  still. 

The  watchmaker,  M.  Ouvrard,  who  wound  up  our  clocks 
every  fortnight,  having  at  one  time  taken  up  the  study  of 
somnambulism,  thought  he  recognised  in  our  nurse  a  subject 
who  would  be  susceptible  to  magnetic  influences,  and  proposed 
putting  her  to  sleep. 

A  few  minutes  sufficed  to  obtain  the  state  of  prostration  and 
insensibility  which  characterises  magnetic  sleep.  For  the  first 
few  seances,  Marie's  replies  were  unintelligible,  but  she  very  soon 
began  to  express  herself  clearly  and  even  with  volubility. 

Considering  the  state  of  mind  the  manifestations  of  the 
statuette  kept  us  in,  it  will  be  readily  understood  that  the  first 
question  put  to  the  somlfambulist  was,  'Do  you  see  who  it  is 
who  moves  the  Virgin  about  ? ' 

'  I  see  him,'  she  replied,  '  he  is  close  to  me  on  his  knees, 
praying.  It  is  a  man  dressed  in  a  brown  coat,  holding  a  dark- 
covered  book  in  his  hand.  I  do  not  see  his  face.  I  only  see  a 
part  of  his  moustache,  for  he  is  turning  his  back  to  me.' 

For  several  days  her  answers  were  always  the  same.  But 
having  insisted  upon  knowing  the  name  of  the  man  in  prayer, 
the  somnambulist  at  last  replied,  *  I  am  Madame's  father.' 


426        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

However,  this  assertion  was  soon  contradicted  by  a  more 
explicit  declaration. 

It  was  so  easy  to  produce  the  magnetic  sleep  with  Marie, 
that,  once  when  she  asked  me  to  put  her  to  sleep,  I  succeeded 
in  doing  so  without  having  any  other  notions  about  such  things 
than  those  I  had  gathered  from  our  few  seances ;  but  I  found  it 
impossible  to  awaken  her,  and  was  obliged  to  send  for  the 
watchmaker,  hoping  he  would  help  me  out  of  my  dilemma. 
He  arrived,  but  his  efforts  were  in  vain. 

The  somnambulist  made  fun  of  us,  and  teased  the  watchmaker 
about  his  embonpoint. 

This  fact  is  to  be  noted,  for  it  contradicts  the  current  belief 
that  the  subject  obeys  the  will  of  the  magnetiser  :  but  what 
follows  reveals  a  phenomenon  of  vastly  different  interest. 

Marie  ceased  to  speak  in  her  own  name.  A  spirit  having 
taken  possession  of  her  will,  declared  that  all  our  efforts  to 
awaken  the  somnambulist  would  be  useless. 

'I  am  quite  comfortable  here,'  said  the  spirit,  'and  it  pleases 
me  to  stay.  But  at  four  o'clock,  I  am  wanted  elsewhere ;  the 
somnambulist  will  then  awaken  of  her  own  accord.  Have  the 
patience  to  wait.' 

At  the  hour  mentioned,  at  the  exact  moment,  the  somnam- 
bulist returned  to  her  normal  state. 

From  that  day  forth  the  somnambulist  remained  constantly 
under  the  influence  of  the  spirits  who  took  possession  of  her 
during  her  sleep.  Thus,  as  soon  as  she  was  asleep,  the  spirit 
sometimes  said,  '  I  have  only  a  few  minutes  to  stay ' ;  and  when 
the  time  was  up,  Marie  would  awaken  without  any  intervention. 
During  these  more  or  less  lengthy  conversations,  the  spirit 
took  a  fancy  to  calling  me  his  son.  His  advice  testified  to  a 
disposition  of  great  benevolence,  and  was  chiefly  of  a  profoundly 
religious  character.  It  is  incontestable  that,  by  an  inexplicable 
phenomenon,  Marie's  faculties  were  replaced,  during  these 
communications,  by  a  spirit  whose  superiority  it  was  impossible 
not  to  recognise,  a  superiority  revealed  by  the  tone  of  the  discus- 
sion and  the  choice  of  expressions. 


APPENDIX  C  427 

Pressing  him  one  day  for  an  explanation,  I  resolutely  asked 
him,  '  But  who  are  you,  then  ? ' 

'  I  am  he,  you  wanted  to  receive  with  a  loaded  gun,  when  I 
knocked  at  your  door  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.' 

Remember  the  somnambulist  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  this 
fact,  as  she  was  not  in  our  service  when  the  strange  nocturnal 
visit  occurred. 

As  for  the  Virgin,  she  was  not  at  a  standstill  all  this  time ; 
she  continued  to  turn  five  or  six  times  every  day. 

The  good  advice  of  the  spirit,  the  purity  of  his  principles,  most 
certainly  interested  me ;  but  I  confess  the  statuette  interested 
me  more.  Had  I  not  a  tangible,  undeniable  fact  before  me, 
just  as  stubborn  as  my  reason  tried  to  be  ?  Stamping  my  feet  I 
repeated,  *  And  still  she  turns.' 

Ever  on  my  guard,  even  in  face  of  evidence,  I  gave  myself 
the  satisfaction  of  imprisoning  the  Virgin,  but  in  such  a  way 
as  to  be  able  to  verify  her  evolutions. 

I  had  a  niche  of  wire  made,  covered  with  transparent  gauze, 
and,  sealing  it  to  the  wall,  I  securely  shut  up  the  statuette 
therein. 

My  work  done,  I  left  my  room.  At  once  a  formidable  rap 
resounded  :  I  ran  to  the  room,  everything  had  disappeared,  the 
pedestal  alone  was  still  in  its  place.  The  Virgin,  thrown  on 
to  the  bed,  was  found  buried  in  the  eiderdown,  whilst  the  casing 
was  at  the  side  of  the  bed. 

My  precautions  having  incurred  displeasure,  1  took  care  not 
to  renew  them.  When  consulted  on  this,  the  next  day,  the 
somnambulist,  or  rather  the  spirit  acting  through  her,  said, '  Never 
touch  the  Virgin,  leave  her  there ;  otherwise  she  will  be 
transferred,'  adding,  '  he  who  takes  her  away  from  her  pedestal 
will  know  very  well  how  to  put  her  back  again.' 

This  recommendation  was  followed  ;  but  one  day  the  statuette 
disappeared.  Madame  Vergniat  having  quite  got  over  her  first 
fears,  searched  for  it  actively  everywhere,  and  after  having  turned 
the  house  upside  down  in  her  quest,  found  it  in  a  cupboard 
behind  the  children's  bed.    This  cupboard,  being  dissimulated  by 


42  8        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

tapestry,  had  never  been  used,  and  we  did  not  even  know  of  its 
existence. 

How  had  the  Virgin  got  into  it  ? 

The  displacements  became  more  and  more  frequent.  For 
instance,  the  statuette  took  it  into  its  head  to  change  rooms,  and 
the  sitting-room  became  its  favourite  resort,  but  it  never  let  a 
whole  day  pass  without  reappearing  upon  its  pedestal. 

The  doors  opened  and  shut  before  it  with  the  same  sharp 
sound  which  followed  each  evolution.  All  this  went  on  so 
rapidly  that  we  were  more  surprised  than  inconvenienced. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  phenomena,  the  ordinary  sleep  of 
the  somnambulist  became  heavier.  At  night  she  was  often 
heard  speaking  aloud.  She  awakened  with  difficulty,  and  having 
shaken  off  her  torpor,  she  could  not  open  her  eyes.  '  They  feel 
as  though  they  were  glued  down,'  she  used  to  say.  But  placing 
her  fingers  on  Marie's  eyelids,  Madame  Vergniat  used  to  pray, 
and  the  difficulty  would  disappear. 

In  her  ordinary  sleep,  the  conversation  was  not  serious,  it  was 
more  often  commonplace,  full  of  jesting,  sometimes  even  of  bad 
taste ;  whereas  in  provoked  sleep,  we  constantly  found  a  serious 
spirit,  professing  the  purest  maxims,  and  giving  advice  full  of 
sincere  charity. 

I  asked  this  mysterious  spirit  if  it  were  true  that  he  was 
Madame's  father,  as  he  had  once  declared  himself  to  be. 

Here  is  his  reply,  I  give  it  word  for  word  :  *  My  son,  I  read 
in  your  mind  (for  you  cannot  hide  your  thoughts  from  me)  that 
not  having  enough  faith  to  attribute  to  God  the  happiness  of  the 
visit  you  receive  in  your  house,  you  seek  its  explanation  in  absurd 
suppositions.     Do  not  believe  in  spiritism^  my  son. 

'  God,  who  is  essentially  good,  could  not  permit  your  spirit- 
friends,  after  having  gone  through  all  the  trials  of  earth,  to  be 
condemned  to  look  on  at  the  turpitudes  and  the  sufferings  of 
those  who  are  dear  to  them.  This  is  a  torture  which  God  did 
not  wish  to  reserve  for  you. 

*  Yes,  a  Spirit  exists  ;  but  He  is  alone,  unique,  and  that  Spirit 
is  mine.     It  is  He  who  breathes  into  all  things,  who  animates 


APPENDIX  C  429 

all  things ;  He  who  makes  you  act,  walk,  stop  when  you  believe 
that  your  own  will  is  all-powerful. 

'That  Spirit,  I  repeat,  is  unique.     It  is  the  Master's.' 

Let  us  remark,  en  passant^  that  this  is  the  opinion  of  Mall- 
branche,  who  claims  God  to  be  the  immediate  Author  of  the 
union  we  admire  between  soul  and  body. 

*  I  see  that  you  doubt  my  words,'  added  the  spirit,  '(for  I  have 
already  told  you  that  you  cannot  hide  your  thoughts  or  actions 
from  me),  and  you  are  saying,  "What  presumption  !  to  suppose 
that  I  have  deserved  such  a  visit,  and  that  the  Divine  Spirit  has 
knocked  at  my  door  !  " 

'  You  prefer,  therefore,  my  son,  to  doubt  my  words  and  to 
stand  aloof  from  the  truth.  So  be  it  !  but  do  not  forget,  what- 
ever your  appreciation  may  be  about  me  and  the  object  of  my 
visit,  be  assured  that  I  am  only  able  to  visit  your  home  in 
pursuance  of  a  supreme  will,  and  that  all  your  eiForts  to  drive 
me  away,  and  even  my  desire  to  leave  you  before  the  accomplish- 
ment of  my  mission,  would  be  equally  useless. 

'  Welcome  me,  therefore,  as  a  kind  father  who  comes  to  help 
his  son  to  tread  the  painful  path  of  life.  I  have  never  left  you 
since  you  came  into  the  world.  We  have  gone  through  many 
worries  together,  we  have  borne  many  sorrows  ;  but  better  times 
are  at  hand,  and  I  am  able  to  reveal  to  you,  my  child,  that  from 
the  moment  I  am  able  to  make  my  voice  heard,  the  blessing 
of  the  Master  will  assure  you  the  repose  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit. 

'  No  more  worry  for  you,  your  father  is  here  to  shield  you. 
But  in  exchange  for  the  good  which  my  mission  is  to  bring  you, 
I  ask  you  to  turn  your  thoughts  to  the  Creator,  and  thank  Him 
for  the  immense  favour  He  has  accorded  you.  For,  learn  that 
no  man  has  ever  before  received  such  a  Visitor  in  his  home. 

'  I  desire  you  to  attend  divine  service  regularly,  and  to  go  to 
communion. 

'  I  also  desire  you  to  help  those  people  whose  addresses  and 
needs  I  will  make  known  to  you  ;  but  as  I  am  a  protector,  if  I 
impose  charges  upon  you,  I  will  also  procure  you  the  means  of 
providing  for  them.' 


430       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

Imagine  what  an  influence  these  mysterious  facts  already 
exercised  over  me,  when  I  say  that  I  promised  everything,  and, 
like  a  submissive  child,  took  the  communion  with  fervour. 

From  that  day  forth  the  benevolence  of  the  unknown  was 
extended  over  every  one  and  every  thing,  from  the  household  to 
the  house  needs.  His  solicitude,  for  the  somnambulist  especially, 
drove  him  sometimes  to  charge  me  with  delicate  missions,  of 
which  I  will  give  an  example. 

I  had  once  just  put  Marie  to  sleep,  when  the  spirit  manifested 
itself,  saying : — 

'  I  am  going  to  speak  to  you  about  some  of  the  private  affairs 
of  the  somnambulist,  and  I  beg  you  to  follow  my  instructions. 

'  This  girl  thinks  of  marrying  a  carpenter,  named  Toussaint, 
who  has  been  following  her  about  for  a  long  time.  But  Marie's 
parents,  who  are  honest  folk,  will  never  consent  to  this  marriage. 
First  of  all,  because  Toussaint  is  a  worthless  fellow,  and  in  the 
second  place,  because  Toussaint's  brother  was  condemned  yester- 
day to  pay  an  ignominious  penalty  for  a  foul  crime  he  has 
committed. 

'  Therefore,  Marie  must  cease  to  know  this  young  man ; 
moreover,  his  jealous  and  violent  character  might  soon  endanger 
her  life. 

'Marie  is  ignorant  of  these  details.  Therefore,  when  she 
awakens,  take  care  not  to  repeat  our  conversation  ;  but  to- 
morrow, when  returning  from  Bordeaux,  tell  her  about  this  as 
though  it  were  some  news  you  had  heard  of  in  town. 

'  Marie  will  deny  everything,  first  of  all ;  she  will  pretend 
not  to  know  the  individual ;  but  insist  upon  it,  and  she  will  con- 
fess everything.' 

And  this,  in  fact,  is  what  happened. 

The  spirit  went  on  to  say  : — 

'  This  workman  has  recently  wounded  his  hand,  and  is  con- 
sequently debarred  from  working ;  he  is  always  prowling 
about  the  house,  and  I  advise  you  to  be  on  your  guard  against 
him.' 

Marie  often  used  to  ask  me  to  put  her  to  sleep  in  the  evening. 


APPENDIX  C  431 

Then,  strange  to  say,  she  would  tell  us  when  and  how  many 
times  this  man  Toussaint  would  pass  the  door,  the  next  day. 

This  information  was  always  correct.  However,  one  day, 
our  man  did  not  turn  up  at  the  given  time — he  was  two  minutes 
late.  Marie  was  asleep  in  the  sitting-room,  and  I  went  back- 
wards and  forwards  from  her  to  the  terrace.  I  was  nearly 
losing  patience,  when  she  cried  out,  '  He  is  coming — you  will 
barely  have  time  to  get  to  the  terrace.'  And  so  it  was ;  as 
soon  as  I  reached  my  post  of  observation,  the  carpenter  came 
into  the  Rue  Malbec  out  of  the  Rue  Begles. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  the  spirit,  whom  the  somnambulist 
called  *  Grand  Father,'  warned  us  that  Marie  ran  a  great  risk. 
Toussaint  having  had  the  door  shown  to  him  everywhere 
because  of  the  disgrace  which  had  fallen  upon  his  family,  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  avenge  himself. 

Animated  with  the  worst  designs,  he  had  shaved  off  his  beard 
in  order  to  make  himself  unrecognisable  ;  and  hiding  a  large 
knife  under  his  coat,  he  was  bending  his  way  to  the  house,  with 
the  fixed  purpose,  said  the  spirit,  of  striking  Marie. 

When  giving  us  this  information  through  the  somnambulist, 
our  mysterious  friend  added  :  '  Do  not  allow  this  girl  to  go  out 
to-day.  I  will  deliver  you  from  this  dangerous  man  very  soon, 
by  making  him  wish  to  go  on  a  long  voyage,  from  which  he 
will  never  return.' 

Two  or  three  days  afterwards,  Marie  heard  that  this  indi- 
vidual had  left  for  Algeria. 

First  of  all  we  have  seen,  by  the  substitution  of  the  spirit  to 
the  faculties  of  the  somnambulist,  how  our  free-will  is  subordi- 
nated to  occult  influences.  And  if  the  objection  be  made  that 
in  that  case,  magnetic  influences  facilitated  this  substitution, 
there  still  remains  the  case  of  the  carpenter,  whose  free-will  was 
absolutely  subjugated  after  premeditation,  as  is  shown  by  the 
spirit's  declaration  that  he  would  '  make  him  wish  to  take  a  long 
voyage  from  which  the  individual  would  never  return.' 

In  proportion  as  these  strange  facts  succeeded  each  other, 
we  yielded  further  and  further  to  an  influence  from  which  it 


432       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

was  impossible  to  escape — I  may  even  say  we  were  happy  to 
obey. 

How  could  we  thrust  aside  advice  which  was  always 
thoroughly  honest,  and  with  which  the  name  of  God  was 
constantly  associated  ? 

After  the  somnambulist,  Madame  Vergniat  was  the  one  who 
felt  the  effects  of  this  mysterious  atmosphere  the  most  strongly. 

For  my  part,  I  had,  at  first,  confined  myself  simply  to  observ- 
ing the  phenomena,  to  accepting  them  only  as  a  study ;  but 
under  the  influence  of  surprise  upon  surprise,  filled  with 
admiration,  I  ended  in  blind  submission.  And  yet,  we  were 
only  at  the  beginning  of  our  marvellous  manifestations. 

Often,  during  a  meal,  if  we  had  need  of  something  or  other, 
Marie  would  bring  it  to  us  before  we  asked  for  it.  A  voice, 
which  she  thought  was  at  times  mine,  at  times  Madame 
Vergniat's,  transmitted  our  desire  to  her  before  it  was  expressed. 
It  was  a  splendid  case  of  thought  transference. 

If  the  maid's  work  was  not  quite  properly  done,  he  who 
watched  over  the  house  so  assiduously,  punished  her  immediately, 
by  removing  with  remarkable  dexterity  the  foulard  she  wore  on 
her  head.  And  if  she  ever  happened  to  be  wanting  in  politeness 
towards  us,  she  was  instantly  called  to  order  in  the  same  way, 
without  any  consideration  for  the  place  or  circumstances  she 
might  be  in  at  the  moment.  I  have  often  seen  her  foulard 
thrown  on  the  ground,  to  remind  her  that  she  should  allow  us 
to  pass  before  her  into  a  carriage,  omnibus,  etc. 

I  have  also  had  occasion  to  witness  a  very  surprising  mani- 
festation, surprising  because  of  the  facility  shown  for  displacing 
a  piece  of  furniture  the  weight  of  which  was  relatively  con- 
siderable. 

Often,  after  retiring  to  rest,  the  somnambulist  would  feel  her 
bed  gently  rolled  into  the  centre  of  the  floor,  and  then  back 
again  to  its  place.  This  to-and-fro  movement  used  to  be 
repeated  as  often  as  three  or  four  times  in  the  same  evening  ; 
the  movement  was  slow,  we  could  see  distinctly  that  great  mass 
moving  about  under  the  impulsion  of  some  invisible  force. 


APPENDIX  C  433 

The  somnambulist,  as  I  said  in  the  beginning,  was  a  big, 
stout  girl  from  the  Pyrenees.  She  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
and  the  sight  of  all  these  supernatural  things  astounded  and 
alarmed  her.  I  have  remarked  that,  in  her  normal  state,  she 
often  forgot  what  she  had  seen  the  previous  day.  But  what  she 
really  did  understand  was  that  '  Grand  Father '  was  not  satisfied 
with  her  when  a  crust  of  bread  or  some  cheese  was  thrown  at  her 
head  ;  this  was  a  sure  sign  that  there  was  a  hitch  somewhere. 

In  the  vestibule,  which  we  used  as  a  dining-room,  a  small 
Louis  XV.  lustre  was  suspended ;  it  often  swayed  about  when  we 
sat  down  to  meals,  and  the  movement,  which  was  always  pre- 
ceded by  a  rustling  on  the  metal  chains,  was  slow  or  accelerated 
according  to  my  wife's  expressed  or  unexpressed  wish. 

If  we  had  visitors,  everything  was  so  quiet  that  no  one  would 
ever  have  suspected  what  strange  things  happened  to  us  habit- 
ually. It  looked  as  though  these  manifestations  were  reserved 
for  the  inmates  of  the  house  and  for  a  few  privileged  guests, 
whose  attention  was,  perforce,  aroused  by  the  noise. 

Two  young  girls,  one  Anna ,  from  Perigord,  the  other 

Mathilde ,  from  Bordeaux,  who  worked  almost  constantly 

in  our  house,  were   present  at  most  of  these  occurrences,  and 
'  Grand  Father '  even  testified  much  affection  for  these  girls. 

In  the  beginning,  I  said  that  when  the  statuette  turned  on  its 
pedestal,  the  swords  had  moved  about  in  the  contrary  direction. 
One  of  them  was  unhooked  and  deposited  in  a  corner  of  the 
wall,  but  in  the  presence  of  Madame  Vergniat  an  invisible  force 
almost  immediately  put  it  slowly  back  again  in  its  place. 

The  oscillations  of  the  lustre,  the  movements  of  the  swords, 
the  displacements  of  the  bed  were  the  only  phenomena  which 
the  eye  was  able  to  follow  ;  all  the  others  were  so  rapid  that 
they  escaped  even  the  most  vigilant  attention. 

Our  presence  in  the  house  was  not  necessary  to  produce  noises 
and  other  phenomena.  The  fact  which  I  am  going  to  relate 
contradicts  the  opinion  emitted  by  some  spiritists,  that  spirits 
borrow  the  force  which  is  indispensable  to  produce  these  dis- 
placements from  the  mediums  or  assistants. 

2  £ 


434       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

We  once  went  to  spend  a  day  in  the  country,  taking  the 
nurse  with  us,  and  leaving  the  house  empty  for  the  day. 
Returning  in  the  evening,  the  neighbours  came  out  to  meet  us 
saying  that  they  feared  all  our  crockery  was  broken,  because 
ever  since  our  departure  a  dreadful  noise  had  reigned  in  the 
house.  We  searched  all  the  rooms,  but  no  damage  had  been 
done,  and  everything  was  in  its  place. 

Where,  therefore,  in  that  empty  house  had  the  spirit  taken 
the  auxiHary  force  which  we  are  told  is  necessary  for  its 
manifestations  ? 

I  was  very  reserved  respecting  these  facts.  1  did  not  care  to 
noise  them  abroad,  for  had  I  done  so  controversy  would  certainly 
have  arisen. 

Another  reason  for  remaining  silent  was,  that  once  after  having 
spoken  of  these  events  to  the  member  of  a  reputedly  religious 
family,  the  Virgin  refused  to  make  any  evolution  before  this 
visitor.  But  scarcely  was  the  incredulous  person  out  of  the 
house  when  the  statuette  was  displaced. 

The  same  evening  I  put  Marie  to  sleep,  and  reproached  the 
spirit  severely. 

'  What  happens  here  is  for  you  alone,'  he  replied,  '  and  ought 
not  to  be  exhibited  as  a  spectacle." 

However,  this  apparently  severe  admonition  was  soon  infringed 
upon  by  himself  under  the  following  circumstances  : — 

M.  Bossuet,  a  hairdresser  in  the  Rue  BoufFard,  at  Bordeaux, 
was  dressing  Madame  Vergniat's  hair  in  the  sitting-room  :  my 
wife  heard  the  sharp  rap  which  usually  announced  a  displacement 
of  the  Virgin.  She  got  up,  and  without  saying  anything  went 
into  the  room,  followed  instinctively  by  M.  Bossuet.  The 
Virgin  was  balancing  herself  on  the  edge  of  the  bracket. 
M.  Bossuet,  quickly  understanding  what  was  happening,  cried 
out  in  admiration,  ^Mon  Dieu  I  how  glad  I  am  to  have  seen 
such  a  thing  !  * 

M.  Bossuet  is  dead  now ;  who  can  say  whether  he  has  found 
the  solution  of  the  problem  which  engages  us  ? 

I  took  advantage  of  this  incident  to  ask  why  the  Virgin  had 


APPENDIX  C 


435 


moved  during  M.  Bossuet's  visit,  since  it  w^as  told  me  that  these 
favours  were  exclusively  reserved  for  the  household. 

'I  choose  my  company,'  replied  the  spirit,  'and  I  had  to 
reward  M.  Bossuet  for  having  patiently  reproduced  the  features 
of  Christ  in  some  hair.' 

I  do  not  know  if  it  be  true — though  many  have  since  assured 
me  it  is  true — that  M.  Bossuet  was  the  author  of  such  a  work. 
I  confine  myself,  as  a  faithful  reporter,  to  recording  the  reply 
which  was  given  me. 

Our  house  had  one  inconvenience — a  very  disagreeable  one  in 
winter — that  of  obliging  the  maid  to  cross  the  garden  in  order 
to  open  the  gate  for  the  milkman,  who  rang  every  morning  at 
daybreak. 

We  were  looking  for  a  combination  which  might  enable  us 
to  avoid  this  inconvenience,  when  our  kind  protector  came  to 
our  aid. 

This  fact  is  one  of  the  most  curious  of  our  long  series  of 
surprising  adventures. 

Henceforth,  when  the  milkman's  cart  stopped  at  the  gate  and 
before  he  rang,  a  mysterious  power  shot  back  the  bolt  in  the 
lock.  Then  the  gate  opened,  and  the  milkman  placed  on  the 
window-sill  the  jug  of  milk,  which  the  domestic  took  in  later  on. 

Perhaps  the  milkman  thought  a  special  mechanism  allowed  us 
to  open  the  door.  However  that  may  be,  his  imagination  was 
evidently  at  work,  for  he  was  heard  to  say  aloud,  when  getting 
into  his  cart,  'All  the  same,  this  is  a  very  queer  house,' 

Sometimes,  after  having  attended  vespers  either  at  Sainte-Croix 
or  at  the  Vieillards,  we  used  to  take  a  long  walk,  and  often  we 
returned  home  tired  and  impatient  to  sit  down  and  rest  a  while. 

So  that  we  might  not  have  to  wait,  an  invisible  hand  used  to 
knock  at  the  door  before  we  arrived  there. 

This  fact  could  not  be  hidden,  and  our  neighbour,  Madame 
Pardeau,  in  a  good  position  for  observation,  laughed  at  the 
attentions  shown  us. 

At  about  this  time  there  was  a  strange  substitution,  one  which 
would,  henceforth,  render  the  intervention  of  the  somnambulist 


436        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENCfMENA 

unnecessary.  Madame  Vergniat  and  I  were  returning  home 
after  visiting  Talence.  On  the  way,  my  wife  turned  round 
quickly,  saying:  'Some  one  has  just  called  me  :  twice  I  heard 
a  voice  say, ''  Heloise  !  Heloise  !  " ' 

From  that  day  forth,  Madame  Vergniat  asked  questions 
mentally  and  a  foreign  voice  answered  them. 

Very  soon  the  voice  took  the  initiative  of  conversations,  and 
absorbing  Madame  Vergniat's  faculties,  spoke  through  her. 

There  was  no  being  deceived  ;  it  was  easy  to  recognise  the 
same  benevolent  spirit,  which  had  only  changed  his  dwelling- 
place,  as  it  were. 

The  first  recommendation  given  through  Madame  Vergniat 
was  to  cease  putting  Marie  to  sleep.  '  Henceforth  you  will  not 
be  able  to  do  so,  without  incurring  much  unpleasantness.' 

But  my  keen  desire  to  see  and  to  observe  everything  was  so 
great,  that  it  got  the  better  of  this  last  advice,  and  I  put  the 
somnambuHst  to  sleep  as  usual.  Ill  came  of  it.  To  the  charit- 
able and  benevolent  discourses  succeeded  a  dishevelled  language, 
which  I  thought  I  could  put  an  end  to  by  awakening  the  som- 
nambulist ;  but  it  was  impossible  to  do  so. 

She  walked  about  the  room  with  her  eyes  closed,  crying  out : 
'  I  will  wake  up  when  it  suits  me  to  do  so.  I  am  here,  and  I 
want  to  stay  just  because  my  staying  annoys  you.'  Then  she 
tried  to  go  out  to  walk  about  in  the  garden,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  lock  the  door. 

This  scene,  which  lasted  for  several  hours,  took  away  my  wish 
for  further  experimentation  with  Marie. 

From  that  time,  Marie  was  subjected  to  several  ill-defined 
influences  during  her  ordinary  sleep  ;  she  spoke  aloud,  sometimes 
she  used  serious  language ;  sometimes  she  seemed  to  be  filled 
with  mad  joy.  The  former  depth  and  goodness  in  advice  given 
through  her  had  disappeared. 

Moreover,  I  was  amply  compensated  by  the  new  situation 
which  rendered  the  somnambulist's  intervention  unnecessary, 
and  I  thought  no  further  of  risking  the  disagreeable  scene  of 
which   I   have   spoken.      I   may   even   say   that   all   magnetic 


APPENDIX  C  437 

attempts  and  experiments  with  Marie  ended  here.  There  was 
no  further  question  of  them. 

Sometimes  the  spirit  when  consulted  did  not  answer.  Madame 
Vergniat  would  then  say,  '  I  speak  to  him,  but  he  does  not  reply.' 
But  he  never  kept  us  waiting  very  long. 

The  spirit  often  announced  his  departure.  '  If  you  have 
something  to  ask  me,  or  to  tell  me,'  he  would  say,  '  be  quick, 
because  I  am  obliged  to  go  away,  and  will  only  be  able  to 
return  to-morrow  at  such  and  such  a  time.' 

And,  until  the  time  indicated  had  arrived,  all  questioning  was 
useless.     There  were  no  replies. 

Hundreds  of  times  I  had  had  occasion  of  verifying  the  exact- 
ness of  information  furnished  by  means  of  Marie  ;  but  it  re- 
mained to  me  to  find  out  if  the  information  given  by  the  new 
channel  had  the  same  value. 

I  had  not  long  to  wait  before  attaining  certitude  in  that 
respect. 

It  was  on  a  winter's  evening,  the  night  was  pitch  dark,  it 
was  pouring  in  torrents.  Returning  home  from  business,  the 
maid  came  to  tell  me  that  a  small  Havanese  dog,  which  a 
neighbour  had  kindly  given  us,  had  gone  astray.  As  I  said,  the 
weather  was  fearful,  and  we  could  not  think  of  going  out  to 
search  for  the  tiny  animal.  But,  as  I  appeared  to  be  troubled 
about  the  matter,  Madame  Vergniat,  who  so  far  had  said  nothing, 
raised  her  head,  and  addressing  me  in  the  peculiar  way  which 
announced  an  official  communication,  said,  '  So  you  were  really 
attached  to  that  little  animal  !  Very  well !  do  not  be  sad,  you 
will  find  it  again.  I  see  it ;  a  workman  is  holding  it  under  his 
jacket  in  a  hairdresser's  establishment  in  the  Rue  Begles  (the 
Httle  hunchback).' 

The  information  was  precise ;  given  by  the  somnambulist,  I 
would  not  have  hesitated  believing  it ;  but  I  now  needed  further 
proof;  therefore,  in  spite  of  the  weather,  I  went  out  in  search 
of  the  dog.  My  quest  having  led  me  to  the  hairdresser's,  I 
looked  timidly  in  at  the  window,  when  the  hunchback  perceived 
me,  and  called  out :  '  Do  you  want  something,  M.  Vergniat  ? ' 


438       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

I  replied,  '  If  you  should  happen  to  hear  that  a  small  Havanese 
dog  has  been  found,  be  kind  enough  to  let  me  know.' 

A  workman,  who  was  in  the  shop,  said  :  *  Five  minutes  ago  I 
held  it  in  my  jacket  trying  to  warm  it.  I  had  picked  it  up 
sopping  wet,  in  a  corner  of  the  street,  where  I  dropped  it  again.' 

Some  few  steps  further  off,  I  observed  a  white  spot  in  the 
darkness.  It  was  Fleurette  crouching  down  in  the  shelter  of 
a  doorway. 

I  returned  home  triumphantly,  carrying  the  children's  happi- 
ness with  me,  as  well  as  the  confirmation  of  the  infallibility  of 
our  protector.  The  influence  of  this  power,  which  revealed 
itself  as  unlimited,  will  be  easily  understood.  Always  gaining 
fresh  ground  by  new  supernatural  phenomena,  its  will  entirely 
superseded  ours.  What  in  the  beginning  it  formulated  as  a 
desire,  soon  became  an  order.  It  paid  attention  to  the  smallest 
details;  designated  the  necessary  provisions  for  the  day  and 
fixed  the  prices  thereof.  If  a  more  important  purchase  than 
usual  had  to  be  made,  he  indicated  the  shop  and  price 
beforehand. 

These  facts  gave  rise  to  some  curious  incidents.  Thus,  for 
example,  when  a  shopkeeper  charged  too  high  a  price.  *  Grand 
Father,'  always  at  hand,  used  to  whisper  to  Madame  Vergniat, 
'Tell  that  woman  her  goods  only  cost  her  such  and  such  a 
price.     Offer  her  so  much.     That  is  sufficient  profit.  .  .  .' 

The  shopkeeper,  dumfounded,  could  not  deny,  and  the  bargain 
would  be  concluded. 

I  reveal  all  these  facts  without  hesitation,  persuaded  that  the 
study  of  such  persistent  and  varied  manifestations  may  help  to 
lift  the  mysterious  veil  surrounding  us.  Moreover,  why  should 
I  hesitate  or  keep  silent  ?  Have  I  not  seen  ?  The  more  incom- 
prehensible the  facts  may  be,  the  greater  the  duty  to  reveal  them. 

I  will,  perhaps,  be  accused  of  weakness  by  showing  so  much 
submission  to  this  occult  power,  which,  however,  only  put  forth 
the  claim  of  coming  from  God,  and  expressed  none  but  honour- 
able sentiments.  To  my  accusers,  I  will  reply,  '  Go  through  the 
same  trial,  then  I  will  recognise  your  right  to  criticise.' 


APPENDIX  C  439 

As  for  weakness,  this  was  never  one  of  my  failings,  unless  I 
should  make  an  exception  for  the  sentiment,  which  makes  me 
bow  before  the  Master — a  sentiment  I  mean  to  preserve. 

I  said  my  wife  and  I  went  regularly  to  vespers,  sometimes  at 
Talence,  sometimes  at  Sainte- Croix  ;  but  more  often  at  the 
Vieillards. 

I  remember  that  once  when  gazing  upon  these  latter  poor 
creatures,  ever  at  the  mercy  of  public  charity,  our  mysterious 
guest  confided  to  us  :  '  Without  my  visit,  my  children,  that 
fate  might  have  been  yours.' 

In  the  beginning,  I  said  I  had  promised  to  take  the  com- 
munion ;  I  did  so  with  fervour,  so  profoundly  had  these 
mysterious  facts  impressed  me  ;  I  carried  submission  to  the 
extent  of  giving  up  theatres,  and  all  amusements,  obeying  the 
express  desire  of  the  unknown. 

To  make  up  for  this,  I  was  permitted  to  join  every  pil- 
grimage. 

One  morning,  as  I  was  starting  for  my  office,  Madame 
Vergniat,  with  an  inspired  air,  dictated  the  following  order  to 
me  :  '  You  must  send  a  telegram  to  Paris  this  morning,  bidding 
the  agents  to  sell  out  6000  francs  worth  of  French  stock  at 
3  per  cent.,  and  buy  in  10,000  francs  of  Italian  stock.'  He 
added  :  '  Did  I  not  tell  you,  that  when  it  would  please  me  to 
impose  an  obligation  upon  you,  it  would  never  be  at  your  own 
expense  ?  Now,  I  have  need  of  a  few  thousand  francs,  the  use 
of  which  I  will  point  out  to  you  when  the  time  comes.' 

In  spite  of  the  strange  things  I  had  already  seen,  I  was 
bewildered.  Madame  Vergniat,  although  the  wife  of  a  stock- 
broker, had  never  interested  herself  in  business  affairs,  and  was 
absolutely  ignorant  of  financial  combinations. 

The  terms  used  to  dictate  the  transaction,  indicated  that  the 
operation  was  planned  by  a  mind  accustomed  to  this  kind  of 
business. 

As  the  advice  was  not  dangerous,  and,  in  case  of  failure, 
would  not  carry  me  very  far,  I  telegraphed  to  Paris  without 
hesitating.     Before  I  returned  home  in  the  evening,  I  had  the 


440       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

reply,  and  wished  to  communicate  it  to  my  mysterious  client. 
*  Useless,'  he  said  to  me,  '  I  know  it.' 

I  took  advantage  of  this  circumstance  of  talking  business  with 
him,  with  the  object  of  finding  out  just  how  far  the  spirit's 
knowledge,  in  matters  of  speculation,  went. 

'  Do  you  know,'  I  said  to  him,  '  that  your  transaction  is 
founded  on  two  liquidations.  The  Italian  stock  is  in  liquidation 
for  the  15th  inst.,  and  the  3  per  cent,  for  the  end  of  the  month.' 

'  I  did  it  purposely.  The  Italian  will  be  liquidated  first,  for 
the  profits  thereof  are  urgently  required.  Whoever  procures 
the  French  stock  for  the  end  of  the  month  is  destined  to  offer  a 
present  to  his  daughter.  I  will  give  you  a  few  instructions  on 
this  subject.' 

I  risked  the  question  :  '  You  then  believe  in  the  rise  of  the 
Italian  and  fall  of  the  French  stock  ? ' 

*  Your  Father  is  not  one  who  doubts,  who  believes,  or  who 
only  hopes ;  He  is  always  sure,  because  He  is  the  Master.' 

From  the  day  the  exchange  transaction  was  made,  the  two 
contrary  movements,  favourable  to  the  arbitratipn,  were  not 
belied  ;  and  (an  important  fact  to  take  note  of)  every  morning, 
with  mathematical  precision,  the  unknown  predicted  the  stock- 
list  which  the  telegraph  only  brought  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

I  wish  to  insist  upon  this  fact,  because  some  people  seem  to 
question  the  spirits'  possibility  of  foretelling  the  future. 

Always  preoccupied  in  studying  these  facts,  I  sometimes 
asked,  the  evening  before,  what  the  rate  would  be  the  following 
day.  '  I  cannot  tell  you  before  to-morrow  morning.  I  have 
need  of  the  night  to  gather  my  information.' 

One  day,  there  was  a  difference  of  a  farthing  between  the 
rate  predicted  in  the  morning,  and  the  official  rate  received  at 
four  o'clock.  When  I  made  the  remark,  the  unknown  said  to 
me  :  '  It  was  a  bad  head  who  rang  down  the  changes  at  the 
stroke  of  the  bell.'  The  spirit  evidently  even  possessed  the 
slang  of  the  stockbrokers'  ring. 

Seeing  so  much  penetration,  I  meekly  asked  if  he  could  be 


APPENDIX  C  441 

useful  to  me  in  my  own  business.  He  replied  :  '  I  did  not  come 
for  that ;  my  visit  has  another  object  in  view  ;  nevertheless  I 
think  I  can  be  useful  to  you,  and  when  the  opportunity  occurs, 
I  will  not  forget.' 

This  declaration  seemed  to  contradict  the  first  one.  At  the 
outset  of  these  manifestations,  the  *  Master's'  blessing  assured 
the  repose  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit :  '  No  more  worries  for  you  : 
your  Father  is  here  to  turn  them  all  aside.'  There  was  now  a 
slight  deviation  which  we  cannot  help  observing. 

Let  us,  however,  return  to  this  power  of  penetration  ;  it  was 
such,  that,  consulted  upon  the  state  of  my  cash-box,  he  at  once 
told  me  how  much  it  contained.  For  him,  it  was  mere  child's 
play  to  tell  any  one  the  contents  of  their  purse. 

During  the  arbitration  process,  I  sometimes  asked  him, 
'  What  profit  does  your  stock  operation  give  you  this  evening  ? ' 
He  mentioned  it  at  once,  and,  without  omitting  a  farthing,  he 
even  counted  brokerage  and  the  price  of  telegrams. 

'  Your  business  affairs,'  said  he,  *  should  no  longer  trouble  you, 
for  they  are  mine.  I  will  look  after  them  :  you  have  only  to 
obey,  and  to  satisfy  me  in  order  to  be  rewarded. 

'  You  may  be  sure  that  nothing  would  be  easier  for  me  than 
to  load  you  with  riches  any  day ;  and,  if  I  make  you  wait,  it  is 
because  you  made  me  wait  a  long  time  before  I  was  able  to 
bring  you  to  me.' 

This  is  another  remark  which  is  not  any  clearer  than  the  one 
I  quoted  a  little  while  ago. 

Whilst  the  arbitration  was  proceeding  favourably,  the  Virgin 
continued  her  evolutions;  however,  they  were  soon  to  cease. 

One  afternoon  she  made  some  evolutions  noisier  than  usual, 
and  going  out  of  the  house,  went  and  placed  herself  upon  some 
grape-vines  in  the  garden. 

At  that  moment,  one  of  our  former  servants,  a  girl  named 
Caroline  T.  .  .  .,  the  same  who  was  in  our  service  when  the 
nocturnal  visit  occurred,  happened  to  come  up  to  the  house  ; 
seeing  the  statue  in  the  garden,  she  and  another  servant  decided 
to  put  it  back  again  on  its  pedestal. 


442        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

It  was  scarcely  replaced  when  a  violent  rap  resounded,  and 
the  Virgin  fell  on  the  ground  broken  to  pieces. 

Great  was  Madame  Vergniat's  grief  when  she  heard  of  the 
accident.  I  must  own  that  I,  too,  was  vexed.  The  debris 
were  gathered  up  and  preserved  with  veneration  for  a  long  time. 

But  the  pedestal  remained  vacant.  Then  the  thought  came 
to  me  of  asking  our  protector  if  it  would  be  possible  to  find  a 
similar  statuette. 

'I  will  see  about  it  to-night,'  he  replied.  The  spirit  often 
begged  me  to  leave  him  the  night  for  reflection.  He  said  it 
was  then  that  he  found  the  necessary  information. 

The  next  day,  faithful  to  his  promise,  he  gave  me  the  follow- 
ing information  :  '  There  is,  in  Bordeaux,  a  Virgin  like  the  one 
which  is  broken.  You  will  find  it  at  a  sculptor's  in  the  Rue 
Bouquiere  (a  small  shop  situated  in  a  corner  of  the  street). 
There  is  only  that  one  specimen,  and  the  tradesman  has  no 
cast.' 

I  quickly  took  one  of  the  fragments,  and  went  to  the  Rue 
Bouquiere.  I  found  the  shop,  and  the  tradesman  told  me  he  had 
a  Virgin  similar  to  the  one  I  desired,  but  that  he  had  no  cast  of 
it.  'I  will  look  for  it,  and  you  may  come  and  fetch  it  this 
evening.'  The  same  evening  I  returned  to  Malbec  with  the 
statuette  which  was  going  to  stifle  all  regrets. 

My  arrival  with  the  statuette  was  the  occasion  for  another 
oflicial  communication  :  *  My  son,  that  Virgin  will  be  displaced. 
I  will  not  tell  you  where  I  shall  carry  it  to ;  she  herself  will 
reveal  it  to  you.  Now,  as  she  will  go  very  far  away,  you  must 
put  your  name  and  address  inside  the  statuette.'    This  was  done. 

Placed  upon  the  pedestal,  the  new  Virgin  turned  round  three 
times  the  day  after  her  arrival ;  since  that  day  she  never  stirred. 

I  do  not  know  if  she  will  ever  go  on  this  journey ;  in  any 
case,  she  is  a  long  time  making  her  preparations. 

All  the  incidents  touching  the  statuette  end  here  :  the  circum- 
stances of  the  annee  terrible  caused  it  to  pass  into  other  hands. 

We  said  that  the  stock  transaction  was  going  on  better  and 
better.    And  with  his  facility  to  foretell  the  future,  the  unknown 


APPENDIX  C  443 

sold  out  the  Italian  stock  at  the  highest  rate,  whilst  he  waited 
for  several  days  to  buy  back  his  3  per  cent,  favourably. 

All  this  was  done  with  astounding  precision  ;  with  a  power 
equal  to  his,  fortune  was  simply  without  bounds. 

The  profits  of  these  two  transactions  amounted  to  about 
three  thousand  francs.  With  the  funds  resulting  from  the 
liquidation  of  the  15th  I  was  given  the  mission  to  reserve  one 
thousand  francs  for  the  father  of  a  large  family.  And  the 
souvenir  of  this  good  action,  for  which,  in  a  way,  I  was  but  an 
agent,  rejoices  me  still. 

Other  less  important  distributions  were  ordered  to  be  made. 

Finally,  to  crown  everything,  we  were  told  to  illuminate  our 
garden  in  honour  of  the  Virgin. 

The  profits  of  the  second  liquidation  followed  afterwards,  and 
gave  rise  to  a  curious  incident. 

On  pay-day,  when  the  profits  were  at  the  disposition  of  the 
mysterious  spirit,  he  begged  me  to  return  to  Bordeaux  to  buy  a 
piano,  which  he  offered  to  my  daughter.  (This  was  the  '  present  * 
which  had  been  spoken  of  in  the  beginning  of  these  bourse 
transactions.) 

'  Go,'  he  said,  '  to  M.  Caudere's,  Alices  de  Tourny,  No.  50, 
where  you  will  buy  a  second-hand  piano ;  you  will  be  asked  six 
hundred  and  fifty  francs  for  it.' 

Upon  making  the  remark  that  I  needed  precise  indications  in 
order  to  avoid  all  confusion,  he  replied  :  '  It  is  not  necessary.  I 
will  be  there  to  see  that  they  offer  you  the  piano  I  want.  You 
will  not  be  obliged  to  bargain,  for  the  price  is  less  than  the  value 
of  the  instrument.' 

How  could  I  resist  the  commands  of  such  a  kind-hearted 
friend,  whose  power  seemed  to  have  no  other  limit  than  that  of 
his  will  ? 

Moreover,  was  it  my  province  to  discuss  the  manner  of 
employing  money  which  did  not  belong  to  me  ? 

Therefore  I  arrived  at  Alices  de  Tourny,  Madame  Caudere 
was  alone  in  the  shop.  I  followed  my  instructions,  and  was  offered 
a  second-hand  piano  for  six  hundred  francs.     It  was  fifty  francs 


444       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

below  the  stated  price.  I  hesitated  taking  it,  but,  remembering 
his  own  words,  '  /  will  be  there^  I  concluded  the  bargain  on  the 
express  condition  that  the  instrument  might  be  delivered  the 
same  evening,  according  to  our  benefactor's  will. 

I  arrived  home  quickly,  impatient  to  have  an  explanation 
concerning  the  fifty  francs. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  observed  an  irregularity,  and  as  my 
submission  was  only  the  result  of  an  infallibility  which,  until 
then,  had  never  been  belied,  the  absolute  and  regular  continua- 
tion of  these  facts  was  required  in  order  to  keep  up  that  blind 
confidence  which  already  impaired  so  seriously  my  free  will. 

It  was  with  almost  a  triumphant  air  I  announced  that  the 
piano  had  only  cost  six  hundred  francs. 

'  I  know  it,'  said  the  unknown  ;  '  but  Madame  made  a  mistake.' 

On  the  morrow,  when  settling  the  account,  the  shopkeeper 
said  to  me  :  '  You  got  a  bargain  yesterday ;  my  wife  made  a 
mistake  in  selling  you  for  six  hundred  francs  a  piano  I  had  fixed 
at  six  hundred  and  fifty.' 

Absorbed  in  these  supernatural  incidents,  I  did  not  think  of 
replying.  I  walked  slowly  home  wrapped  in  thought.  I  related 
to  the  mysterious  being  what  had  happened  to  me  at  the  piano- 
shop. 

If  my  mystical  preoccupations  had  made  me  forget  my  duty 
for  an  instant,  he  was  not  long  in  recalling  it  to  me. 

'  I  apprised  you  of  it,'  he  answered.  I  understood,  and  brought 
back  the  fifty  francs  to  the  tradesman,  not  caring  to  benefit  by 
a  mistake. 

At  that  time  my  daughter's  musical  knowledge  was  limited  to 
the  '  Bon  Rot  Dagohert^  and  yet,  when  she  sat  down  to  the  piano, 
her  fingers,  yielding  to  some  mysterious  influence,  moved  in- 
voluntarily over  the  piano,  and  played  unknown  airs  whose 
accompaniments  were  in  accordance  with  all  the  rules  of 
harmony. 

Convinced  that  the  child  was  playing  from  memory,  the 
pianoforte-tuner  complimented  her  upon  her  musical  dispositions. 

This  phenomenon  was  only  produced  three  or  four  times ;  it 


APPENDIX  C  445 

is  true,  I  always  took  care  to  take  the  child  away  from  the  piano 
as  soon  as  I  suspected  the  approach  of  the  influence. 

The  stock  transaction  accomplished,  other  business,  patronised 
and  advised  by  the  protector,  succeeded  as  well  as  the  first.  The 
object  was  always  charity.  These  operations  were  not  important ; 
but  for  all  that,  their  results  increased  the  importance  of  the 
help  every  day. 

The  spirit  had  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  designating  the 
persons  he  wished  to  help.  Sometimes  he  indicated  the  name, 
but  more  often  he  confined  himself  to  mentioning  the  street, 
the  number,  and  flat. 

I  remember  one  Sunday,  while  breakfasting,  I  was  suddenly 
told  to  go  immediately  and  visit  a  family  living  in  a  tiny  house 
behind  the  Rue  Fran^ois-de-Sourdis.  It  was  a  long  way  oflf", 
and  notwithstanding  the  indications  given  me,  I  went  up  and 
down  several  streets  in  that  quarter  of  the  town  in  vain,  and  I 
returned  without  having  been  able  to  fulfil  my  mission. 

'  You  must  go  back  again,'  said  the  unknown,  '  and  before 
breakfasting  ;  for  you  yourself  can  wait ;  but  it  is  not  the  same 
there,  where  the  children  are  hungry  .  .   .  ! ' 

Every  morning,  when  leaving  home  to  go  to  my  oflftce,  I  was 
commissioned  to  do  a  good  work.  '  In  such  and  such  a  street, 
at  such  and  such  a  number  and  flat,  at  the  door  to  the  right,  etc., 
lives  a  widow  ;  you  will  give  her  five  francs,  or  ten  francs,  and 
so  forth.  .  .  .' 

In  the  beginning,  fearing  to  be  led  astray,  these  missions 
made  me  feel  rather  uncomfortable,  especially  when  he  sent  me 
to  places  where  there  was  no  apparent  misery ;  but  he  never 
made  a  mistake. 

To  provide  for  these  distributions,  and  carry  out  certain 
religious  projects,  which  he  acknowledged  to  me  —  such,  for 
example,  as  the  erection  of  a  chapel  on  the  ground  of '  Malbec,* 
in  order  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  his  visit — to  provide,  I 
say,  for  so  much  expense,  he  considerably  increased  the  figure 
of  his  operations. 

It  is  true  that  an  aiFair  undertaken  by  his  order  always  the 


446       METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

same  evening  gave  good  results.  And  it  was  necessary  it  should 
be  rigorously  so,  if  he  v^ished  to  maintain  the  blind  confidence 
he  seemed  so  desirous  of  preserving. 

It  w^as  then  that  he  changed  his  tactics.  Instead  of  taking 
his  profits  at  each  liquidation,  he  now  opposed  himself  to  any 
realisation  whatsoever. 

In  the  face  of  such  a  dangerous  system,  I  timidly  risked  some 
remarks : — 

'  No  one  could  guide  me  better  than  you  do,  and  I  would  be 
already  too  rich  if,  as  before,  you  took  advantage  of  every  fluctua- 
tion of  the  market,  instead  of  opposing  yourself  to  the  realisation 
of  the  profits.  It  is  true  there  is  a  large  margin  on  your  pur- 
chases, but  our  prosperity  is  only  artificial,  since  it  is  but  the 
result  of  recharges  and  not  of  liquidated  operations.  That  is  to 
say,  by  this  system  we  are  constantly  laying  ourselves  open  to 
emergencies.' 

It  was  also  under  this  mysterious  inspiration  that  I  then  took 
an  engagement  to  buy  out  the  interest  of  my  sleeping  partners. 

Always  under  the  same  guidance,  our  business  affairs  rapidly 
created  an  opulent  position  for  me.  The  upward  movement  of 
stocks  continued,  and  if  at  times  a  slight  reaction  arose,  it  could 
only  touch  a  small  part  of  the  profits  already  acquired,  and  con- 
stantly carried  over. 

The  dangerous  system  of  non-realisation,  we  see,  had  not 
been  abandoned. 

I  often  complained. 

It  was  thus  that  on  the  ist  January  1870  (a  Sunday,  I  think), 
the  Coulisse  having  quoted  on  the  boulevards  75*05  francs,  and 
this  rate  assuring  us  a  profit  of  30,000  francs  on  one  affair  alone, 
I  implored  him  to  consent  to  realising.  He  refused  energetically, 
saying,  *  Money-jobbing  does  not  suit  me,  I  have  put  you  in  a 
position  which  will  be  your  last  affair.'  Moreover,  he  affected 
a  great  dislike  to  my  profession,  saying  he  desired  to  see  me 
leave  it  as  speedily  as  possible. 

Sometimes  the  spirit  dropped  certain  exclamations,  aside,  as  it 
were,  the  most  frequent  of  which  was,  *  What  a  struggle  \* 


APPENDIX  C  447 

I  paid  no  attention  to  this,  and  it  was  only  after  the  tragic 
denouement  of  this  affair  that  the  souvenir  of  these  exclamations, 
although  so  frequently  repeated,  came  back  to  my  memory. 

The  circumstances  which  follow  sadly  demonstrate  that  during 
two  and  a  half  years  the  aim,  so  patiently  followed,  was  simply 
to  bribe  my  confidence  with  strange  revelations,  and  to  keep  me 
under  his  thumb. 

This  result  obtained,  he  had  only  to  use  influence  in  order  to 
keep  me  in  a  position  whose  importance  could  not  help  being 
fatal,  in  view  of  coming  events,  and  which  the  unknown's  power 
of  penetration  permitted  him  to  foresee. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  in  a  way,  borrowed  prosperity, 
since  it  only  resulted  from  non-realised  operations,  that  I  took 
possession  of  my  new  residence.  Rue  d'Enghien,  No.  ii. 

For  several  months,  although  it  was  impossible  for  stock  to 
rise  above  seventy-five  francs,  faithful  to  his  system,  the  unknown 
refused  to  sell  out. 

It  was  therefore  necessary  to  continue.  But  could  I  com- 
plain if  funds  remained  stationary  ?  The  profits  entered  into 
cash  as  a  consequence  of  the  rise  of  stocks,  which  seemed  a  suffi- 
cient guarantee  against  any  event  whatsoever. 

Moreover,  it  seemed  to  me  mean  to  reproach  him  with  not 
giving  me  more,  when  I  owed  him  already  such  unhoped-for 
prosperity. 

My  tranquillity  was,  therefore,  absolute  when  complications 
with  Germany  broke  out.  Then,  from  the  first  day,  I  wished 
to  liquidate. 

*  There,  are  your  fears  beginning  again  as  at  the  time  of  the 
Luxembourg  incident  ?  Believe  him  who  is  the  Master,  and 
who  for  nearly  three  years  has  never  deceived  you.* 

Notwithstanding  his  aflirmations,  two  days  afterwards  war 
was  decided,  and  in  taking  possession  of  the  telegraph  lines,  the 
light-hearted  minister  put  the  finishing-stroke  to  my  ruin,  for  it 
placed  me  in  the  impossibility  of  communicating,  and  therefore 
of  limiting  my  loss. 

Whatever  may  be  the  danger  of  a  struggle,  we  succumb  with 


448        METAPSYCHICAL  PHENOMENA 

less  regret  when  we  have  fought  on  equal  terms  ;  but  here, 
without  speaking  of  the  strange  circumstances,  the  suppression 
of  telegraphic  communication  placed  me  in  the  position  of  a 
man  bound  hand  and  foot,  who  is  thrown  into  the  sea  and 
reproached  for  not  swimming. 

In  this  critical  moment,  the  unknown  was  absolutely  dumb. 
He  answered  none  of  the  questions  I  asked  him.  And  yet  the 
situation  was  most  critical ;  for  twenty  years  of  labour  dis- 
appeared into  the  gulf,  and,  moreover,  to  this  material  loss  was 
added  the  grief  of  being  forced  to  remain  separated  from  my 
daughter,  who  was  dangerously  ill. 

A  last  explanation  took  place  :  '  There,  then,'  I  said  to  him, 
'  here  is  what  you  have  brought  me  to,  and  I  do  not  know  who 
you  are  ;  I  only  know  that  you  have  appealed  to  honourable 
sentiments,  in  order  to  make  me  your  dupe,  and  that  you  have 
not  hesitated  using  the  name  of  God  when  laying  your  snares.* 

I  was  too  irritated  to  heed  his  reply  ;  and  I  have  only  a  vague 
souvenir  of  the  word  '  trials '  faltered  out  in  answer  to  my 
upbraidings. 

Thus  ends  this  long  and  sad  '  story.' 

I  have  given  this  curious  self-observation  in  extenso.  The 
personification  is  liable  to  errors  which  may  be  dangerous  if  we 
abandon  ourselves  to  its  direction,  as  too  many  people  are 
tempted  to  do. 

The  extraordinary  facts  with  which  Madame  Vergniat's  life 
was  filled  are  not  confined  to  those  just  related  ;  she  appears  to 
have  possessed  supernormal  faculties  right  up  to  the  last.  It  might 
be  of  considerable  interest  if  her  family  would  give  a  detailed 
account  of  her  life. 


Printed  by  T.  and  A.  Constable,  Printers  to  His  Majesty 
at  the  Edinburgh  University  Press 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

EDUCATION  -  PSYCHOLOGV 

This  book  is  due  on  tnelast  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


7  DAY  USE  DURIMG 


SUMME  R 


SESSIONS 


MAY  1  5  1964 


MAY  1 6  RECD 


FEB  4     1967 


F-tB  14  RLC'U-8AM 


OCT  01 1992 


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LD  21-50m-6,'60 
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